Black Blood
by Ever-Changing Anthem
Summary: This is the sequel to Padfoot Prohibited. Our favorite Marauder is at it again...
1. Reaquainted

Black Blood

Disclaimer: Regretfully, I do not own Sirius Black or any of the other characters found in the Harry Potter Septology. However, if anyone would like to donate funds so that I can become richer than J.K Rowling and buy them from her, I promise I will bring Sirius Black back from the dead and do anything else you say. Please send your gold to Ian McDiarmid's front lawn, where I am currently begging him to take me as his new apprentice and teach me how to bring someone back from the dead. (Ian McDiarmid plays the Emperor in Star Wars, if you happened to not know that.)

_A/N: First things first- I missed you all so much! I'm hoping you won't absolutely hate this, which is the fear that has been keeping me from uploading it. This is the sequel to _Padfoot Prohibited: A list of things Sirius L. Black is no longer allowed to do or say at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _It occurs roughly two years after the first one ended. If you would like to read _Padfoot Prohibited (a.k.a. PP)_, it has fourteen chapters and, I'm pleased to say, has gotten very good reviews. However, PP is strictly a humor fic, and while this is a continuance of that fanfic, it will most likely contain more romance than humor. So those of you who are expecting another PP, I'm just warning you here and now that it may not be quite what you were hoping for. But do give it a shot and let me know what you think in a review. Thanks so much. Enjoy._

_Luv, Liveley_

* * *

Chapter 1 – Reacquainted

He stood in the shadows, watching and waiting. Three cloaked figures were moving slowly up the walk. Letting his hood fall, the tallest one threw his head back and laughed at something the shortest had just said. He had long, blonde hair that had been swept back into a tidy ponytail. Sirius could vaguely recall Lucius Malfoy. He was in his seventh year when Sirius started at Hogwarts, and although he was now also married to his cousin, Narcissa, Sirius knew him by reputation only. The two with Malfoy, Sirius didn't know or couldn't really remember. What it came down to was that all three of them were known Death Eaters, except that the Ministry didn't have the evidence to prove it yet. Sirius shifted even farther into the darkness when Lucius suddenly whipped around at the sound of a squirrel scurrying up a tree trunk nearby.

Sirius smirked and muttered to himself, "Twitchy little Death Eater, aren't you, Malfoy?"

Not wanting to screw up his first real assignment for the Order, Sirius kept a silent but watchful eye on the men before him, ready to alert the next person down the walk when they finally moved on and ready to alert the rest of the Order if they took action. It was then, while keeping a close watch on them and their surroundings for more Death Eaters, that Sirius noticed the girl. Long, black hair flowing behind her, this girl was apparently not watching where she was going. Even if she was a Muggle and didn't know what Death Eaters were, the three men didn't exactly look friendly. She continued to walk toward them, and so just as she was passing Sirius's hiding spot, he darted out for a split second and grabbed for her. Pulling her backwards with one strong arm around her waist, he covered her mouth with his other hand, willing her not to scream.

Sirius held the girl against him and whispered urgently into her ear. "Don't scream. I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" Not daring to take his hand away from her mouth just yet, as she was struggling desperately to be free of him, he continued, gently, "Listen to me. Those men out there under the trees are very dangerous. I need you to stay hidden here with me until they've moved on. Do you understand me?"

The girl suddenly abandoned the arm that was restricting her waist, and with all ten digits, dug her nails into the hand that was over her lips, wrenching it away.

The voice that spoke ever so softly was dripping with hostility. "Get your hands _off_ me, Black, or I'll let the Death Eaters have you."

With one quick motion, Sirius spun the girl around to face him, but kept a firm hold on her. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"Let me go," she demanded, glaring up at him.

In the darkness that surrounded them, Sirius couldn't properly see her face. He suddenly wished he'd taken a closer look before he pulled her into the shadows. "Tell me who you are."

"Not until you let go of me."

Sirius had nothing to bargain with. He let the arm that held her close to him drop to his side. "How do you know me?"

"I went to Hogwarts," the girl responded, taking more than a few steps back from him once she was free of him.

"What's your name?" he asked, impatiently.

He could see the outline of her mouth form a smirk. "Guess." She was enjoying being able to play with him.

"Did we date or something?" Sirius had sure dated his share of girls throughout his seven years at school.

The girl let out a short, hushed laugh. "Not if I could help it."

"Gryffindor?"

"Yes."

Sirius was truly perplexed. He should know someone from his own house. If only he could see her face! "Were you in my year?"

"No. I just graduated a few weeks ago. I was in my fifth year when you were in your last, in case you can't do the math," she answered, sarcastically.

"All right, you obviously hate my guts…"

"And for good reason. I should have pulled that pink tutu up to your neck and choked you with it." Miraculously enough, the girl managed to keep her voice down despite the acidity to her voice.

Sirius let out a sharp sigh of revelation and shook his head, staring at her outline. "Miss me, Ashe?"

"Hardly."

Sirius gave another sigh. "Wow…Raven Ashe. Never thought I'd lay eyes on you again."

"_That_ is obvious," said Raven.

Sirius grimaced. "You're going to give me a hard time, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "You gave me one."

"Two years ago! I'm surprised you even remember, Ashe. You enjoyed every second of it, didn't you?"

Raven rose her voice. "No."

"Fine, go ahead and deny it," he sighed. She was no easier to argue with now than she was two years previous. "What are you doing wandering around here alone and at night anyway?"

"That's not your concern."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, did you even see the Death Eaters?"

"Of course I saw them. They won't bother me. I'm not Muggle-born."

"Yes they will. Just for being here and seeing them together," argued Sirius.

"I can take care of myself," she defended.

"Against three Death Eaters?"

"What are you doing here then, Black?" she shot back.

"I'm supposed to be watching them, looking for any new faces. There's a leak in the—" he stopped short. He didn't think it was wise to talk about the Order of the Phoenix in front of a non-member.

"The Order?" she finished for him.

"How did you know about—"

"It's not important," she interrupted. "But I must say, Black, you've done a _fine_ job of keeping tabs on _them_ by coming out of nowhere and scaring the bloody hell out of _me._"

"I was trying to protect you!" shouted Sirius. A sarcastic snort from Raven interrupted his thoughts of how ungrateful she was.

"Good job," she said scathingly as she made her way back up from the shadows where the moonlight illuminated her face.

Sirius followed her. "Ashe, wait. We need to stay out of sight."

She turned back around to face him. "From whom?"

Sirius quickly moved past her, into the open. They were gone. "Shit! Come on." After turning back to grab onto her hand, he pulled her along the walk, keeping to the shadows, until he saw them again further up the walk and moving more swiftly.

"Can you please try and keep your hands off me?" Raven was again trying to pry herself away from him.

Sirius smirked and held her hand, fingers laced together with his, bent behind her back. "Don't get excited."

"Oh would you get over yourself, please? You couldn't possibly _excite_ me if you tried."

"You should know better than to challenge me by now, Ashe. That's what made me chase after you in the first place."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You were always wanting things you couldn't have."

He finally let go of her hand only to put a finger to her lips. "Shh."

He pulled a small mirror out of a back pocket in his robes and said "Remus" into it. Remus's dimly lit, but amiable face appeared suddenly in the mirror.

Sirius spoke to him in hushed tones. "Heading your way just now, Moony."

"Gotcha, Padfoot," Remus replied with a wink.

"Remus?" questioned Raven. Curiously, she tilted the mirror so she could see his face and smiled down at him.

"Raven? What on earth are you doing with Sir—Oh, blast!" His voice became a low whisper, "You could have told me they were that close, Padfoot. I have to go; they're coming." His face faded away suddenly and Sirius tucked the mirror back into his robes.

Raven looked to Sirius with concern. "He'll be okay, won't he?"

Sirius's mouth formed a smirk once again. "You know Moony."

She smiled at Sirius for the first time. "Yeah, I know 'Moony' as you call him."

"We can go now," said Sirius as he now ushered her out into the open.

"Go where?" asked Raven.

"Well, I don't know. Wherever you were going before I grabbed you."

"My best friend, Jordan's house." Raven pointed into the distance where a long row of houses stood side to side.

"Ever hear of Apparating?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, but I'm not that lazy. I live just there." She pointed in the opposite direction.

"Does Remus know that?"

"Yes. I ran into him a few weeks ago on his watch. He told me to look out for you," she smirked.

"What?" Sirius let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, what's the big, damned deal? He did the same thing two years ago when I asked him who you were. I didn't think I was such a bad guy. Can't we be friends?"

"Just friends?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Sirius shrugged. "Possibly."

"Have you ever been 'just friends' with a girl?"

"Sure." Raven's other eyebrow arched, so Sirius continued insistently, "When I was at school, it was different, okay? I'll give you that. I realize was an arrogant jerk I was most of the time. I can't believe most of the stuff I did now." He ran a hang through his black locks.

Raven let out a sharp laugh. "Me neither."

Sirius's gray eyes met her blue. "If I hurt you," he suddenly looked rather ashamed of himself, "I'm sorry. It's not what I wanted. That's just the way I operated back then, I guess."

Raven shook her head. "It was a long time ago. Don't worry about it."

Sirius nodded. "Friends then?"

Raven rose an eyebrow and surveyed him skeptically.

"Come on, Ashe. Can you possibly hate me so much you refuse to give me another chance?"

Raven smiled again at him. "You're a pretty hard person to truly hate, Black. I'll admit that."

Sirius chuckled. "Tell _that_ to my parents."

Raven furrowed her brows as the two of them walked along. "Your parents really hate you? I thought you just always said that to get girls to feel sorry for you or something. How can they hate you?"

"Simple, really." Sirius waved a hand in front of him as though he didn't care in the least as he launched into an explanation. "There are lots of reasons to choose from: I don't buy into their pureblood superiority bullshit; I'm not a Death Eater like my brother; my best friends are Muggle-borns and Muggle lovers; or possibly because my Uncle Alphard died and left every cent to me since they hated him, too."

"I figured Regulus would be a Death Eater," said Raven quietly. He had been in her year. "He and Bellatrix."

Sirius nodded and then remembered something. "I seem to recall the slightest bit of enmity between you and Bella in our schooldays."

"The slightest bit?" asked Raven. "We hated each other, yes."

"Why?" Sirius questioned. "Other than the fact that she exists, I mean."

"Well, why not? I mean, she was Slytherin, I was Gryffindor, you know? We were like exact opposites. I guess it started when people would mistake me for her in the hallways. She got sick of it one day, came to tell me off, and wound up making an arse of herself instead."

"How?" asked Sirius with growing interest. He loved seeing his least favorite cousin, Bella, humiliated.

Raven tried not to smirk. "Er…well, I sort of turned her hair green and spouted something like, 'There you go, Slytherin, now people _definitely_ won't confuse you with me again'."

Sirius howled with laugher. "Merlin, I would give up my uncle's entire fortune in Gringott's to have been able to see that!"

Raven laughed along with him as she slowed her pace. They had come to the long row of houses where Jordan lived.

"This it?" asked Sirius.

"Mmhmm."

Sirius nodded, not taking his eyes off her. "So…can we be friends or not?"

Raven sighed. "Promise you'll never do it again?"

At first, Sirius was going to ask her what she meant. Then he realized there was only one thing he'd done to her that she'd still have her knickers in a twist about.

"Promise I'll never kiss you again?" Sirius shook his head adamantly. "I'm not going to do that," he smirked, "I might _possibly_ want to kiss you sometime in the future."

Raven blushed slightly. "But you're supposed to ask a girls' permission first. Didn't you know that?"

Sirius narrowed his eyes on her.

"Oh, I see, " Raven nodded, "_Sirius Black _doesn't have to ask permission because every girl in the whole bloody universe wants to snog him, right?"

He grimaced. "I probably would have sounded exactly like that two years ago, yes. But no, I just think asking first would ruin the moment a little bit, don't you?"

"Well, you don't have to come right out and ask verbally. You can tell by the way she looks at you, or even by body language." Raven smirked, "And chances are if she's glaring daggers at you and refusing, yet again, to go out with you, it usually indicates that she's not exactly ready for you to stick your tongue down her throat."

Sirius gave her a sexy smile. "Oh come on, Ashe. Tell me anyone's even come close to kissing you like that since then and I'll get right down on my knees and beg your forgiveness."

"I—That's not the point! And it's none of your business either," answered Raven, defensively. "The fact of the matter is that even though a girl _might _want you to kiss her at first, if you just grab her and go for it without anything leading up to it, she's going to know you only want one thing, and knowing that sort of devalues the entire kiss in the first place, don't you think?"

"Do you ever stop moving those lips?" he asked, grinning down at her.

She gave him a shrug. "When I'm asleep."

"I see."

The door to the house they were standing just in front of opened suddenly. A girl with long brown hair and friendly face stood staring at them, looking very puzzled.

"Sirius Black?" She turned to Raven. "Is he stalking you again?"

Raven giggled. "I don't think so, Jordi."

"Well, am I supposed to sic Chopper on him or what?" asked Jordan, smirking at Sirius.

"Chopper?" he asked, uneasily.

"Her Dachshund," explained Raven.

"Oh…those are little, right?" Sirius prompted.

"Yeah, but he's a killer," said Jordan. "We trained him to sic certain parts of the human body."

"Like…what?" Sirius was almost afraid to ask.

"Like things that you have and we don't," Raven teased him, biting at her bottom lip and smirking.

"I'm outta here," Sirius said, taking a few hurried steps back from the door.

Raven and Jordan giggled. "Just kidding, Black."

"Yeah, he only sics Slytherins," added Jordan.

"I'm not taking any chances; I have centuries upon centuries of Slytherin blood running through my veins," he said. "So, Ashe, I'll see you around, okay?"

"You will?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, I have duty all week, same spot. So maybe we can catch up with Remus afterwards?"

Raven looked to Jordan, who answered, "We'll be there," with a grin.

Raven laughed and leaned into Sirius, dropping her voice to a whisper, a whisper loud enough that Jordan could hear. "Jords has a little crush on your best friend."

Sirius smirked and turned to Jordan. "Hey, you fix me up with yours, I'll fix you up with mine."

Jordan nodded excitedly, which earned her a light jab in the ribs from Raven.

"Black…" warned Raven.

"Only joking, Ashe." He winked at Jordan before retreating slowly down the street.

* * *

_A/N: Well, so goes the first chapter. I'm liking it so far…I just don't know where I'm going from here. What did you think? Any suggestions? Review and let me know. You can also instant message or email me. EvrChanginAnthem is my AOL screen name and email. I luv chatting with HP fans, so feel free to IM/email anytime. Don't expect regular updates on this. It's just not possible with my life the way it is right now. I need the degree to get the job; I need the money to get the degree; I need the job to get the money… It's a vicious cycle. Please try and be patient. Thanks. _

_Luv, Liveley._


	2. Self skepticism

Black Blood

Disclaimer: Regretfully, I do not own Sirius Black or any of the other characters found in the Harry Potter Septology. However, if anyone would like to donate funds so that I can become richer than J. K Rowling and buy them from her, I promise I will bring Sirius Black back from the dead and do anything else you say. Please send your gold to Ian McDiarmid's front lawn, where I am currently begging him to take me as his new apprentice and teach me how to bring someone back from the dead. (Ian McDiarmid plays the Emperor in Star Wars, if you happened to not know that.)

_A/N: This chapter is mostly here to show you the kind of relationship that Sirius has with his friends and also to show that guys really do act differently around their friends. Sirius really has grown up in the last few years, but he's careful not to let his friends discover that. Hopefully I got this updated in time for you to read it during Christmas. That was my plan, anyway. I'm sorry it wasn't sooner. I had to study for exams, and do Christmas shopping, and bake cookies… Anyway, Happy Christmas, everyone! Luv, Liveley._

* * *

Chapter 2 – Self-skepticism

"Alright, Padfoot, tell me the truth," demanded Remus as he pushed open the back door leading into Sirius's small flat, "are you harassing Raven Ashe again?"

Sirius scoffed. "I didn't harass anyone that didn't _want_ to be harassed, Moony."

"Yeah, sure." Remus sat down next to Sirius on the couch. "Then will you be _stalking_ her again?"

"I never stalked her!" defended Sirius. "She just…fascinates me. Most girls at least gave me a chance, but that one…"

"I think you may have blown any chance you had with that kiss. I mean, that was cheap, even for you."

"Yeah, but it was two years ago!" Sirius argued.

"Well, did you ever think maybe it was her first kiss?" countered Remus.

"What?" Sirius shook his head.

"For that to be taken away from her by you of all people…"

"Moony, that can't have been. She's bound to have been kissed…"

"I know her better than you do, Sirius," interrupted Remus. "She was always a bit antisocial. She's better now, but—"

"Why is she antisocial?" asked Sirius unexpectedly, trying to catch Remus off-guard.

Remus became suddenly interested in the carpet at his feet. He swallowed and said uneasily, "No idea."

"Right," Sirius rolled his eyes and continued to interrogate him. "Why did you tell her you were a werewolf even before you told us, who, I might add, are your best friends?"

"Haven't we covered this before?" Remus snapped. "She needed to know. That's all there is to it!"

"But why?" demanded Sirius.

Remus turned his head to look Sirius in the eyes. "Padfoot, would you ever tell anyone else I was a werewolf without making sure it was okay with me first?"

"No!" answered Sirius instantly. "Of course not."

"Good…then you see why I can't tell you about Raven's situation?" he rose his eyebrows, questioningly. "It's not my thing to tell."

This earned him a glare from Sirius. "You sucked me into that one."

Remus grinned and threw his head back proudly. "I know," he replied with an air of arrogance.

The two of them chuckled.

"Anyway…in the future, Padfoot, if you really must continue trying to _woo_ said girl, I'd keep your lips to yourself for just a little while, okay?"

Now Sirius rose an eyebrow. "What's this? Giving me advice?"

Winking, Remus inclined his head.

"I should be making a list of all the things that apparently _don't_ work on Ashe. I'm good at making lists," Sirius pointed out. "Remember my Hogwarts essay?"

Remus snorted. "Yeah, cause _that_ sure kept you out of trouble in school. When one makes a list of things not to do, it's ordinarily so that they can…I don't know, actually _not_ do them. And not only did you fail miserably at that simple task, you actually started doing _more_ things just so you could add them to your list." Sirius shrugged innocently. "So, I'm just generalizing here, Padfoot, but I'd say making a list of things not to do with Raven would only serve to make you annoy her more."

"You make a good point, my friend," agreed Sirius, though his lips formed a devious smirk, "but it would give me something to do besides follow Death Eaters around and help James-and-Lily," he said the two names as if they were one, connected person, "pick out bloody wallpaper for the baby's room." He heaved a great sigh and rolled his eyes on top of it.

Remus stared at Sirius for a second, and then, "Lily asked you that, too?"

Sirius gave a tragic nod and then changed his voice to sound as much like Lily's as it could, "Sirius, do you think Jamesey would prefer the 'Harlequin Indigo,' the 'Fairy Tale Blue,' or the 'Caribbean Azure' for the baby's room?"

They both gagged as Remus surveyed Sirius all-knowingly. "Bet you did a major entry in The Book about that."

Sirius chuckled and nodded his agreement. "Well how could I not? It's disgusting! Lily's made a habit of treating us like we're her girlfriends here!"

"I know," Remus agreed, grinning as well. But then, as always, he took the somber side, "but she's eight months pregnant, Sirius. I figure we should give her a break."

"I do!" defended Sirius, smirking. "I gave her my opinion and everything…"

"Oh really? What exactly did you say?" asked Remus, feeling that whatever Sirius said wouldn't fall under the requirements of giving Lily a break.

"I said exactly this: 'They're all revolting, Lily, and you should pray the kid's going to have better taste than that'."

"Padfoot!" reprimanded Remus.

Sirius only increased the volume of his bark-like laughing. "I'm sorry, Moony, but there's no way I'm going to let her turn me into a girl. If she's going to continue asking me those sorts of nauseating things, she has to know I'm going to give her shit about it, pregnant or not. Otherwise she'll do it more and more until the next thing I know, she's giving me a makeover and telling me about her and James's sex life!"

Remus laughed. "Doesn't James do that anyway?"

"Yeah, but James is a fellow guy, Moony. You don't want to hear it from Lily's point of view, trust me."

"Well if what you say is true, I might not have to take your word for it. I can't give her shit because she thinks I'm the sensitive one."

Sirius issued another bark of laughter. "You? Sensitive? If you're the sensitive one, then I'm the _serious_ one."

"Well, you may not be serious, _Sirius_, but you are most definitely thick!" Remus scolded. "At least I'm more sensitive than you."

"Not on a full moon, you're not," Sirius challenged.

Remus rolled his eyes. "That's right, and when the next one rolls around, I'm seriously considering biting you in the arse!"

"Ooh," replied Sirius without missing a beat, "now you got me all excited. I'm counting down the days."

"You think I won't do it?" There was a pause in which Sirius tried not to smirk at such a question. "All right," Remus contested, "but I _will_ tell Raven to stay away from you again. It worked last time."

"What! Moony, come on…" Sirius pleaded.

Remus displayed a grin of victory.

"Fine, it doesn't matter. I can still get her to like me." He leaned back in his chair, lifting the two front legs off the ground and placing his hands behind his head leisurely.

"Not if I tell her you have some really gross, incurable disease or something. I have a rather colorful imagination, you know."

In Sirius's shock, he overbalanced, causing his chair to fall backwards and he with it. "Moony! You're killing me here! What kind of friend are you!"

Remus sneered. "Now who's the sensitive one, Black?"

"I'm not sensitive!" shouted Sirius, struggling to get to his feet. "You won't really tell her that, will you?"

"What do you think I am?" Remus asked, the smirk growing wider on his face, "A two-faced, snarling beast?"

The two of them suddenly grinned at each other.

"Pretty much…yeah," Sirius said. "But at least you get a break from _that_ particular personality on the full moon."

Remus glared at Sirius, realizing he had been implying Remus's wolf side was the more favorable. "Git."

Sirius smiled. "Oh, go cry your sensitive little self to sleep."

Sniffling for full effect, Remus kicked off of Sirius's sofa. "I think I will."

"Give Ashe a kiss for me when you see her now, won't you?"

Remus shrugged. "Okay."

"Don't you dare!" Sirius was on his feet now, too. "I was kidding; I take it back. You said you were just friends, remember?"

"Yeah, but you're my best friend, and you asked me to," he teased, grinning. "I'd do it for you."

"Keep your bloody hands off her, I said!" but he laughed. "Besides, that friend of hers might be pretty upset about that."

"Jordi? You think she likes me?" asked Remus, unable to hide his curiosity.

"Er…reading between the lines, mate, I'd say she's madly in love with your furry little self."

Remus beamed. "That's okay with me… Wait, you think she knows I'm a werewolf?"

Sirius shrugged. "Ashe does. They're best friends. Girls tell each other everything, don't they?"

"Yeah, but not something like that…"

"Does it matter if she knows or not? If she does and likes you anyway, that's a good thing. And if she doesn't know, you'll just tell her and—"

"And then she'll never want to come near me again," supplied Remus bluntly.

"Remus, she won't be like that! Your furriness is part of you whether you like it or not. It makes you a stronger person. If Ashe's friend really—"

"Jordan," Remus corrected.

Sirius rolled his eyes and sighed with annoyance. "If your precious _Jordan_ really likes you, she won't care that you're a werewolf."

"How do you know that?" questioned Remus uncertainly.

"I'm a bloody psychic. I didn't tell you I applied for the Divination opening back at Hogwarts next term? True seer, I tell you. I had a vision the other night about these two girls, and they were—"

Remus held up a hand. "Shut it, Sirius."

Sirius shook his head, but dropped the theatrics. "Not until you quit feeling sorry for yourself. You're never going to get laid with such self-skepticism. I'm just looking out for ya."

"Look out for yourself," Remus said, giving him a one-sided smile.

"I do, obviously." Sirius put on a brilliant smile. "But I'm a chivalrous guy, what can I say? I have an excess of concern, so kill me."

"Well then why don't you try thinking with some place other than your—"

"Belly button?" guessed Sirius.

"It's a little further south, I think."

"You think?" asked Sirius, smirking.

"Well…" Remus shrugged, "mine is, anyway."

Sirius feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you're implying there, Moony."

Remus chucked. "Well, I'd better get home. See you tomorrow then." He made his way for the door.

"Yeah. Watch out for those dangerous, furry, night creatures now."

Remus smirked. "I _am_ one of those 'dangerous, furry, night creatures,' Padfoot."

"Yeah, I know," said Sirius, smirking back. "I meant watch out for a _female_ one. Like I just said, you could use a good—"

"I said shut it!" Remus cut in before Sirius could finish verbalizing the workings of his dirty mind, once again. "Goodnight."

"Night, Moony."

Before going to bed that night, Sirius pulled an old and battered-looking, black book and a quill toward him. Making a list couldn't hurt. He liked making lists. He wrote:

* * *

This is a list of things that I, Sirius Lee Black, to my own shame, have used on countless women in my short, but productive life as a ladies' man. Regardless of the fact that most of the items I am writing down have worked on most of my prey, I am writing them down as things _not_ to say and/or do because in most cases, they have only been used to deceive. The only explanation I can find for my sudden urge to make said list is this: Raven Ashe. This girl not only refuses to fall for my wit, she matches it with her own and brutally butchers every bit of it. Every pick-up line I have ever uttered to her has only managed to make her hate me more than she did before. Hopefully, the list I am making will help me in an effort to reform my evil—but, I'm told, actually quite appealing—mannerism and put an end to my aforementioned womanizing ways. Without further ado, the list:

**1. **"I have only three months to live…"

Telling a girl this is obviously…misleading, to say the least. Adding "I wish I wasn't still a virgin…" is even more deceitful and will most likely result in a slap to the face. This pick-up line can also go even more wrong, as Ms. Ashe has unkindly demonstrated:

Sirius Black: "Please go on a date with me, Ashe. I only have three months to live!"

Raven Ashe: "…Good!"

**2. **"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

The ideal response from my victim in this case would be something along the lines of them laughing and thinking I was charming for calling them an angel. But no! Observe:

Sirius Black: "Did it hurt?"

Raven Ashe: "Did _what_ hurt?"

Sirius Black: "When you fell from heaven."

Raven Ashe: She rolled her eyes! _Rolled_ her eyes, at _me_, can you believe it? And then she said, "Yeah…like a bitch."

**3.** "Is that a mirror in your pocket? 'Cause I can see myself in your pants."

Okay, I'll admit this one is a little too forward, even for me. I mean, I'm not complete scum. I was only going to say it in order to piss Ashe off even more because she's pretty cute when she feels exposed. But she didn't even let me finish! So rude:

Sirius Black: "Hey Ashe, is that a mirror in your pocket? 'Cause I can see myself in your—"

Raven Ashe: She really didn't have to say anything at all because the smack she gave me right across the face made me forget what the next word was anyway!

**4.** It's probably not a good idea to randomly kiss a girl after they've continuously refused to go out with you. This isn't exactly a pick-up _line_ per se, but forgive me for thinking she might actually enjoy it if she just stopped yelling at me for two seconds! Although Remus says I'm not allowed to do it again, I think I should count this one as a victory because Ashe didn't slap me or swear at me afterward. Okay, it's probably because she was in too much of a shock. Clearly, she didn't expect me to just kiss her while she was shouting at me. But she just stared at me after I pulled away… Well, all right, maybe she was glaring daggers at me… Actually, it could have been that she was just standing there because she was waiting for me to do it again… Maybe she liked it… Maybe I should have…kissed her…again…

* * *

_Sirius watched Raven across the room since she was still sitting with Jordan and one other fifth year girl. He started to get up. _

"Padfoot…" started Remus.

"You shouldn't watch this," said Sirius over his shoulder, with a determined sort of look on his face.

He sat down next to her. She and the two other girls were laughing and eating pieces of cake. "Well, I've come to throw in the towel."

"Good for you," said Jordan after she'd swallowed her bite of cake.

Raven pointedly ignored him, suddenly finding the frosting on her cake very interesting. She finally looked up as she felt Sirius's eyes on her.

"What?"

"You aren't going to say anything?" he asked.

"Nope." She continued to eat and a few moments later, looked up again to find Sirius still watching her. "You know, that's really creepy and annoy—"

She was cut off when Sirius instinctively pressed his lips against hers. Raven sat frozen for a few seconds, and when he pulled back, the fire in her eyes could possibly have made Lord Voldemort sweat on an off day. The two of them stared at each other for a few more seconds, Sirius with a smirk and Raven with a look of absolute venom.

Then Sirius smiled widely and winked. "Have a nice summer, Ashe."

* * *

Sirius had drifted off to sleep with his head in-between the pages of his book and his bottom lip turning black as he had absentmindedly rested his quill there.

_

* * *

_

A/N: That was a flashback from the thirteenth chapter ("Princesses and Professor McGonagalls'") of Padfoot Prohibited at the end there. Hope you liked this chapter. You got a glimpse of Sirius's famed book, of which his Hogwarts essay was a part, but you will find out more about it in later chapters. I want to wish all of my readers a blessed Christmas and happy New Year. I really do, truthfully, appreciate each and every one of you. There is something on my Christmas list this year that Santa cannot give me: a nice, long review from you. Thanks for reading! Luv, _Liveley._

_Oh, I also wanted to remind everyone to check out my other fic, Renegade, if you can. It follows Sirius into hiding between Harry's third and fourth years. There are also characters named Raven and Jordan, but they aren't – ARE NOT – the same as in this one, just so you know. They're just my signature names, okay? Anyway, check it out if you can. Thanks!_


	3. Moon Mystery

Black Blood

Disclaimer: Regretfully, I do not own Sirius Black or any of the other characters found in the Harry Potter Septology. However, if anyone would like to donate funds so that I can become richer than J. K Rowling and buy them from her, I promise I will bring Sirius Black back from the dead and do anything else you say. Please send your gold to Ian McDiarmid's front lawn, where I am currently begging him to take me as his new apprentice and teach me how to bring someone back from the dead. (Ian McDiarmid plays the Emperor in Star Wars, if you happened to not know that.)

_A/N: Yes, I haven't updated in a long time, I know. I did warn you at the beginning of this that I wasn't going to be able to do that. What can I say? Life sucks when you have to work for a living and pay for school. And I've also been distracted because for some reason my second chapter of this keeps getting deleted on Mugglenet and I was trying to keep it constant with this. They'retwo chapters behind you now. Not that you care, but it helps me be more consistent. Hope you like the chapter. Let me know, won't you? _

_Luv, Liveley_

* * *

Chapter 3 – Moon Mystery

"This is against my better judgment, Black," announced Raven as she followed Remus and Jordan through the door and Remus closed it.

Sirius smiled cheekily at her as he patted the empty couch space next to him. "Believe me, Ashe, going against one's better judgment can be a _lot_ of fun."

Raven promptly sat across the room from Sirius and narrowed her eyes on him. "Why do I think that was one of your lines?"

"I—" started Sirius.

"Because it was," Remus answered. "Give it a rest, huh, Sirius? You promised to be a good boy."

"Luckily I didn't promise to be silent," he said, winking at Raven.

Remus sat next to Sirius and Jordan took a seat opposite him as Raven rolled her eyes. "Haven't changed much in two years then, have you?"

"Hey," Sirius leaned forward, "I haven't tried to kiss you yet, have I?"

"Yeah," agreed Raven, "I have to say that's a plus."

Sirius glared as Raven smiled sweetly at him, making him cringe. "Don't pretend you're so innocent, Ashe. I know better."

"Honestly," Jordan spoke for the first time, "with you two bickering, Remus and I can hardly get in a word."

"One of you shut him up then," Raven said with a smirk.

Remus and Jordan looked at each other and then laughed. Sirius began to chuckle, too. "I'm sorry, Ashe. I just do it because I know it gets your knickers in a twist."

"My knickers are none of your business, Black."

"Well not _yet_," Sirius corrected.

Jordan asked quickly, before Raven had room to respond, "Are we going out to eat somewhere?"

"What? Black doesn't cook?" sneered Raven.

"No, I don't, and you wouldn't want me to," he answered. "Honestly. I burn water."

Twenty minutes later, they were all seated around a table at Magical Meals having just ordered their dinner.

As Remus and Jordan talked animatedly to one another, Sirius and Raven were taking it in turns to roll their eyes and sigh with boredom.

"So, how are James and Lily doing? I heard they got married."

Sirius sighed.

"Yeah, they did," answered Remus. "Lily's pregnant. Due next month."

Raven rolled her eyes.

Jordan squealed with delight. "Boy or girl?"

Sirius rolled _his_ eyes.

"It's a boy. James said he didn't want to know until he was born, but Lily said she had to know what color to paint the nursery."

Sirius forgot that it was Raven's turn so both he and Raven sighed at the same time and then each started snickering.

"What's so funny?" asked Jordan.

Raven continued to giggle as Sirius suddenly straightened in his chair. "I just remembered something!"

"What?"

"You kissed Remus on the cheek at the End-of-Term Ball!" he exclaimed.

Jordan seemed unabashed. "Yeah."

A waiter came to bring their drinks, salads, and dinner rolls. Remus smiled and said "Thank you," politely, then turned back to Jordan. "Oh yes…" said Remus, his cheeks going slightly pink. "Why did you?"

She shrugged. "I had a crush on you. Raven said I wouldn't do it, but I did."

Raven cleared her throat. "Had?"

"But why is it that you get to kiss Moony and he doesn't say a word when Ashe is still giving me shit for kissing her over two years ago?"

"She kissed him on the cheek!" shrieked Raven. "And I dared her to because I knew they both liked each other. There's a difference, you moronic troll!"

Sirius smirked and held up a dinner roll. "Wanna roll?"

Raven leered at him.

Sirius cracked an irresistible smile. "What would you do if I kissed you right now?"

Raven turned from him and looked across the table as though waiting for Remus to answer Sirius's question.

"…What?" asked Remus, looking a little confused.

"Well, he _better_ be talking to you," said Raven.

Sirius grinned and feigned his most innocent voice, saying, "I was!"

"Because if he wasn't, I'm gonna—"

"Okay, can we try and get along, please?" asked Remus.

"Yeah, really," agreed Jordan. "Just try and be nice to each other for once. It won't kill you."

Sirius and Raven glanced hesitantly at each other.

"All right. If that's what you guys really want, we'll try," said Raven. She put on a fake smile as she turned to Sirius again, took the roll he was still holding out to her, and said, "Black, my _dear_ friend, could you pass the butter?"

"Ah, but Raven, my pet, you didn't say the magic word," he scolded, shaking his finger in her face.

Raven gasped bogusly. "Oh how dreadfully…appalling of me! Let me try it again. Please, oh _please_, pass me the butter, _Siri-poo_."

Remus and Jordan snickered as they ate their salads and watched the scene before them.

Trying not to laugh, Sirius quickly grabbed the butter dish and set it in front of Raven. As Raven raised her knife, Sirius seized it from her and dipped it into the butter himself.

"Here, Muffin," he said, taking the roll from her as well. "Allow me." He cut it in half and buttered it for her.

"Why, Sirius Black, what on earth would I do without such a chivalrous companion as yourself?" Raven asked, batting her eyelashes and smiling adoringly at him.

"I just don't know, Cheesecake. Let me help you eat," he said as he stuffed the roll into Raven's mouth.

Jordan and Remus couldn't keep silent any longer. They were soon both slumped over their food, roaring with laughter.

"Cheesecake!" exclaimed Remus between fits of laughter.

A waiter suddenly appeared at Remus's side and held out a menu. "Yes, of course we have cheesecake, sir. The finest cheesecake this part of the country, I assure you. I recommend…"

This cued Raven, after spitting the roll out of her mouth into her napkin, and Sirius to laugh with them as the waitress brought their dinners.

"Wha—oh no," Remus choked out, "I...we didn't want cheesecake…but…thank you! M-maybe after…" he gestured toward their plates of food, "after our dinner…"

"Okay, I take it back," said Jordan when she had regained her voice, "don't you two _ever_ be nice to each other again."

When they had finished their dinners, Remus had decided he _would_ have some cheesecake. He called the "Cheesecake Pusher" (as Sirius aptly named him) over. The waiter who had been so energetic when telling them about the cheesecake before, now brought it to Remus with a blank look on his face. After receiving their desserts, conversation resumed.

"Would you kindly hand me that pitcher of water, Ashe?" Sirius asked.

"No," teased Raven. "It's _my_ pitcher." She began to fill his glass with water. "Say when."

Sirius smirked. "As soon as I finish this drink…"

She glared at him and made a point of spilling the ice water over into his lap.

"Ashe!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping up and shaking the cold water off as she laughed at him. "What'd I say?" He quickly dried himself off with a flick of his wand.

"Would you two behave?" pleaded Remus.

"Me? It was her! She just dumped cold water purposefully down my pants!" defended Sirius.

"You deserved it, Black," said Jordan. "You always deserve it."

Raven smiled at Jordi and nodded.

"Just be _quiet_, Sirius, all right? Other people are trying to enjoy their dinners."

Sirius and Raven smirked at each other and Sirius said, "Yes, Mother."

"Speaking of which, how is she?" Remus grinned, finding something to change the topic.

"Who? The hag?" Sirius grimaced. "Alive, unfortunately."

"Well, don't sound so disappointed, Black," Jordan said.

"Have you heard anything else from Regulus? Did he really join the Death Eaters?" asked Raven.

"What do you think? We arrange to meet for a nice lunch and catch up on things? I hate my brother," said Sirius with a slight hint of malevolence. "I haven't seen him since I left school."

"I wanted to know if he was really a Death Eater like you said!" Raven said crossly. "Have you ever thought what would happen if he was? I mean with you in the Order of the Phoenix and he a Death Eater… What if you had to fight each other?"

"Don't think down that lane, Ashe. He's my brother; he isn't a killer."

"Well with You-Know-Who, it's kill or be killed, isn't it?" Jordan asked.

Remus nodded solemnly. "Have you thought about that, Sirius? He's the only brother you've got, you know."

"Thank you, Moony," said Sirius sarcastically. "Look, what do you want me to do? He got himself into this mess."

"Black, we all know you hated each other, but you can't sit there and say you wouldn't help your own brother if you knew he was going to get himself killed," said Raven. "Regulus wasn't spawned from hell like Bellatrix. He isn't _completely_ evil, and you know it."

Sirius's anger was rising. "I don't know what the hell you _think_ you know about my family, Ashe, but stay out of it!"

"I _don't_ know much about your family, and I never said I did," Raven said calmly. "What I _do_ know is that you have an enduring Gryffindor chivalry complex—

"I do _not_ have a sodding chivalry complex!" countered Sirius heatedly.

"Oh really, Black? Remember last week when you just _had _to 'save' me from those Death Eaters even when you thought I was a complete stranger? And this time it's your brother's life that's on the line. Even though you may hate his guts, you're not likely to sit back and watch him die."

"You do," Remus agreed with Raven. "We all do. That's why we were Gryffindors. That's why we're in the Order, isn't it?"

Knowing Remus was right, Sirius sighed. "Yeah, okay." He turned to Raven again, suddenly realizing something and regaining his anger. "Is this the only reason you came tonight?"

Raven smirked. "Of course not, Black. …Haven't you heard? This place has the finest cheesecake this part of the country!"

"Oh yeah, I'm _sure_ that's why you came," replied Sirius derisively.

"Well I didn't come because I'm in love with you, that's for sure," she retorted.

Sirius grinned. "Give it time, Ashe. Give it time."

After dinner, the four of them opted to walk through the park on their way home. Sirius and Raven were again left to fend for themselves as Remus and Jordan walked a little ways ahead of them, engrossed in conversation.

"So why do you hate me, Ashe?" Sirius asked as they walked along, trying to keep up with their friends. "The least you can do is tell me."

"I don't _hate_ you, Black."

"Yes, you do." Sirius insisted.

"If I truly hated you, I wouldn't put up with you at all," she answered.

"Ah-ha! So you like me!" exclaimed Sirius victoriously.

Raven glared at him as they continued walking.

He grimaced. "Okay, so maybe you aren't exactly in love with me yet—and I stress _yet_—but why do you give me such a hard time, huh? I know I messed up by kissing you like that, but it was two years ago. Does it take that long to get over it?"

"No," said Raven, simply. "I'm sorry I'm like that."

Sirius stopped in his tracks to stare disbelievingly at her. "Okay, first of all, I didn't mean that I don't like that about you, because I do. And second, I fully expected you to yell at me for saying something like that."

She shrugged. "After being around you so long, it gets a bit tiring yelling at you, if you don't mind me saying. I think I just give it up after so long."

"Ah," Sirius grinned, "so I have to win you over again every time I see you."

"Something like that," she smirked.

"Well then, I see only one solution: I'll have to never let you out of my sight. If we're never apart, you'll never have time to recharge your defenses."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Black, if I had to spend every second of every day with you, I guarantee you wouldn't make it until sundown."

"Speaking of sundown…" said Sirius, pointing at the sunset before them.

Remus and Jordan were still a little ways ahead of them as Sirius's mouth formed a devious smirk. "Kiss her, Moony! Kiss her!"

As Raven whacked Sirius across the chest for being so blatant, Remus's body suddenly went rigid. For a moment, it seemed to Sirius that he was actually going to make a retort. And as Sirius opened his mouth, Raven again threw an arm across his chest, only this time, it was restraining and her expression was serious.

"Black, I don't know what's happening, but you and Jordi have to get out of here," said Raven very quickly, giving Sirius a push. "Come on, Jordi!"

Jordan had turned to Remus when he stiffened up. "Remus? Wh-what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Jordi, you have to go with Black." Raven had darted forward and was pulling her away from Remus as his eyes were starting to roll up into his head and he was panting like a dog.

When Sirius caught sight of Remus, he understood what was going on and turned the tables on Raven, who was trying to shove them back from Remus.

"Ashe, I don't know what you think you're doing, but you can't hold him off any better than I can, now get out of here and hurry!"

Raven stayed rooted to the spot when he tried to push her back instead. "Yes I can, Black, you don't understand. I can't explain right now, okay? You're going to have to trust me. Please, just get Jordi out of here."

"No!" shouted Sirius. "_You_ don't understand. He won't bite me."

"In a few seconds, he won't you know you are, Sirius!" Her voice was pleading now. "You're wasting time!"

"I'm _not_ going to leave you here to get killed, Raven!" Sirius shouted back at her. "Now use your brain, and—"

"SIRIUS!" growled a not-so-human-sounding voice behind them. Remus was glaring at him, breathing heavily and on the threshold of transforming. "GO!"

Sirius looked back to Raven, shaking his head.

She nodded. "Please! Get Jordi somewhere safe. I can handle him."

Sirius let out a growl of frustration and pulled Jordan quickly in the direction of his flat.

Raven was watching them go, making sure they got to the house okay when she heard a menacing growl behind her. She turned quickly and came face to face with the wolf.

She looked into his cold, black eyes and narrowed her own on them. He made to move around her and go after the others, but she stepped swiftly sideways, her eyes boring into the wolf's, daring him to defy her. He growled at her, but she pushed him back roughly and he did not challenge her again, but looked up at the moon, now visible that the sun had gone down. He let out a loud, bone-chilling howl, and as Raven looked up at the sky after him and gasped at what she saw, the wolf in front of her collapsed and turned back into Remus once again.

Sirius was suddenly shaking her, having just transformed from a giant black dog behind her. "Raven, are you all right? What happened to Moony? Why didn't he attack you? How did he change back?"

He knelt next to Remus's buckled body and was somewhat reassured when he felt a pulse.

Raven knelt next to him looking outright bewildered.

Sirius turned to her urgently. "Why won't you answer me?" he demanded.

Raven looked up at the sky again, where a crescent moon was shining back at her. She dropped her gaze to him again and said slowly. "It's not even a full moon…"

* * *

_A/N: Oh quit complaining, I barely ever do cliff hangers. Now why do you think Remus is transforming when it's not the full moon, hmm? Yes, I do have a pretty good explanation, I think anyway. And why didn't he try to bite Raven? Good questions for you to ponder and then answer in your review, I think. Again, I apologize for the delay in updating. Thanks for reading._

_Luv, Liveley._


	4. The Werewolf's Mate

Disclaimer: Regretfully, I do not own Sirius Black or any of the other characters found in the Harry Potter Septology. However, if anyone would like to donate funds so that I can become richer than J.K Rowling and buy them from her, I promise I will bring Sirius Black back from the dead and do anything else you say. Please send your gold to Ian McDiarmid's front lawn, where I am currently begging him to take me as his new apprentice and teach me how to bring someone back from the dead. (Ian McDiarmid plays the Emperor in Star Wars, if you happened to not know that.)

A/N: I got a review or two asking if Raven was a vampire. Let's see what you think after this chapter. This one can get a bit confusing, so if you have any questions, feel free to email or instant message me. I'm EvrChanginAnthem on both AOL and Yahoo!. I'll do my best to explain but I'll also do my best not to give too much away. Thanks for reading, guys!

Luv, Liveley

* * *

Chapter 4 – The Werewolf's Mate

"All right, you guys better be ready to explain to me what this is all about!" Jordan demanded as Raven and Sirius entered through Sirius's back door with solemn expressions on their faces. "Black basically chucks me through the door and then disappears and leaves me here to die! There's not even any food in the house!"

"Breathe, Jordan. Breathe." Sirius ushered her back into the chair she had just sprung up out of upon hearing them approaching.

"Well then someone explain to me what the hell is going on! What happened to Remus? Is he all right?"

"Yes, Jordi. He's okay for now. We apparated him to St. Mungo's after he passed out," Raven answered.

"But what was he— _Why_ was he—"

"Remus is a werewolf, Jordi," Raven said warily.

"…Ya think!" she responded sarcastically. "How long have _you_ known that?"

"…A while," answered Raven.

"Well, how can he be a werewolf when it's not even a full moon?"

Raven and Sirius exchanged glances and Sirius answered, "We don't know for sure. Dumbledore thinks—"

"You saw Dumbledore?" interrupted Jordan.

"Black sent him a message right before we apparated, and he was waiting for us at St. Mungo's," Raven explained.

"Oh."

Sirius continued. "Dumbledore thinks he might have been given something at dinner."

"On purpose?" asked Jordan disbelievingly. "But why? And what could do that?"

"Again, we don't know," Raven took a turn answering, "but Dumbledore thinks it could have been on You-Know-Who's orders."

"You-Know-Who! But why would he want to—"

"Dumbledore said he had suspected for quite some time that Voldemort was trying to develop some way of transforming werewolves regardless of the moon cycle," Sirius began. "As of right now, most of the werewolves are on his side, lead by the one who bit Remus when he was young, Fenrir Greyback. If Voldemort could make them transform whenever he wanted, they would be an extremely powerful weapon, and he could set them loose on Muggles everywhere without having to put his precious Death Eaters in danger. Not to mention that while Aurors and Order members are out chasing after werewolves, Voldemort is free to do what he wants with less risk of being challenged by them."

"Well, it looks like he's succeeded if Remus transformed tonight."

"He did transform," agreed Raven, "but only for a matter of minutes. So either You-Know-Who found out how to transform them only for a few moments or Remus was only given a small dose of the potion to test if it would work properly."

"The waiter that brought Remus the cheesecake must have been under the Imperius Curse, then?" asked Jordan.

The voice that answered her was suddenly cold and accusatory. "I should have recognized it. What the hell am I in the Order for if I can't even—"

"Black, don't start that again," Raven cut in. "It wasn't your fault any more than it was ours. None of us noticed it either, not even Remus himself. Besides, no one got hurt, and Remus is going to be fine."

"But if I _had_ realized it, Voldemort wouldn't know it worked, and—"

"And then he would have just tried again. And this time it might have been when we weren't there to control him, in the presence of hundreds of people. Or even worse, he might have tested it on Greyback this time, and he would have wiped out the entire block just for the hell of it," reasoned Raven. "Don't do that to yourself, Sirius. We have more important things to worry about."

Sirius looked at her slyly, and Raven thought he was going to make some smart-ass comment about her using his first name. "Like…why he didn't even try to bite you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly at her.

Raven sighed. "That's none of your business, Black."

"I can't believe you still won't trust me," he responded, growing exceedingly angry.

"Try not to take it personally."

"It's pretty damn hard not to!" he spat.

"Well, I'm _telling_ you not to. It's not—"

Raven was interrupted by a tawny owl swooping through Sirius's open window. He sighed as he read the brisk notice from St. Mungo's. "He came to."

Raven and Jordan both let out a sigh of relief. "Well, let's go."

"Yeah," said Sirius, taking his cloak from its hook by the door, throwing it around himself, and then handing Jordan and Raven theirs as well.

When Raven reached for her cloak and tried to take it from him, Sirius held onto it and pulled her towards him instead so that their faces were only a foot apart. "We'll finish this conversation later, young lady."

She rolled her eyes and pushed him away from her. Sirius smirked as he watched her put on her cloak. "Right?"

"Can't wait," she answered him, sarcastically.

The three of them apparated to St. Mungo's where they were soon ushered in to see Remus. When they entered, he didn't smile amiably as he usually did.

He looked up at them, his face pale and anxious and said, "Are you all okay?"

"Shut up, Moony. Can't you see we're fine? How are _you_?" Sirius asked as they stood around his bed.

"I'll live," he replied dryly. "Dumbledore was right."

"About everything?" inquired Raven.

"Pretty much, but the Healers were able to identify traces of the potion they used in me and they're analyzing it at the Ministry. Hopefully they can come up with something to counteract it."

"That's great!" called Sirius. "Worked out fine then, didn't it?" Raven could tell he was trying to be overly positive to keep Remus from worrying too much about what _could _have happened. "Voldemort expected you to bite us quickly and then lose consciousness and not remember anything when you woke up. But now – if they can find an antidote, that is – we'll be more prepared if he tries to use it again."

"I know…" said Remus, softly, "but I still could have—"

"But you didn't, Remus," interrupted Raven. "You didn't. You're fine; we're fine; get over it. Stop looking so ashamed of yourself, okay?"

He cracked a small smile at this until he realized that Jordan had remained silent this whole time. "…Jordi? I'm…I'm really sorry. I know I should have told you… I didn't want you to find out like this, but… I don't know, I just…"

Jordan sat on the side of his bed, smirking. "I agree with Raven and Black. Shut up already and quit apologizing for something that wasn't even your fault." She kissed him.

Sirius and Raven quickly gave each other an eye roll. "Right, well…we'll just go…yeah…" stammered Raven, tugging on Sirius's sleeve and exiting the room.

Sirius followed Raven down the hall until they heard a voice behind them.

"Merlin's beard! That _can't_ be Padfoot with Miss Raven Ashe."

Sirius grinned widely and then turned around to greet his best friend, James, and a very pregnant Lily Potter. "Yes, Prongs," he spread both of his arms out to his side as if to showcase Raven, "the one and only."

Raven had turned also and smiled her most annoyingly sweet smile at James. "Potter."

He grinned charmingly in return. "I guess I underestimated your skills, Sirius. I never thought you could get Ashe after that stunt you pulled at the end of the year."

"Neither did I," Lily agreed. "I thought Raven had _much_ more sense than that."

"I do, actually," said Raven. "We are _not _together."

Sirius sighed. "Yes, Prongs, I cannot tell a lie or Ashe will most definitely maim me. As always, she'll have none of me."

"Good girl," teased Lily again.

Sirius grinned. "James, keep your woman under control; she's severely bruising my ego."

They all laughed. "Well, she bruises mine all the time, Padfoot. That's why I married her," said James, kissing his wife tenderly on the cheek.

"Oh Jesus." Sirius looked away as though they were doing something offensive.

Raven and Lily both giggled again. "So, how's the baby?"

"He's doing great," Lily beamed. "We were just here for my eight month check-up when we heard about Remus. He's okay, though?"

Raven turned to smirk at Sirius, who answered. "I think he's a little more than okay right now, actually. Ashe's friend, Jordan, came with us, if you catch my drift."

James let out a howl. "Ooh, Moony's got a girl!"

"Really?" Lily asked excitedly. "Oh, that's so cute."

"Wow, I never thought Remus would have a girl before Sirius," James remarked.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked her husband. "Sirius has had _plenty_ of girls."

"Yeah, but not a serious girl. Most of those were just…"

"Practice?" suggested Raven.

"…That's putting it innocently," answered James.

Raven looked to Sirius questioningly. "You're not going to dispute this?"

Sirius shrugged. "It _was_ true, but it's not anymore."

"Yeah, Sirius hasn't had a girlfriend in quite a while, have you, Padfoot?" asked James, smirking.

"Oh, shut up, James," responded Sirius.

"Hey, it's true," he went on anyway. "Perhaps he's been tainted by the one and only woman who's ever turned him down." He looked in Raven's direction as Sirius rolled his eyes.

"What, you mean me?" asked Raven. "I _can't_ be the only one; he's probably just not telling you about the others, Potter. And anyway, I'm not trying to make history here."

"Then what _are_ you doing, Raven?" asked Lily, "Because you _are_ here with him."

"I'm not here _with_ him, like I said before. I mean, I'm here for Remus, who has been my friend since I started Hogwarts." Raven added, in an attempt to change the topic, "And speaking of Remus, aren't you guys here to see him? Come on, we'll show you his room. Hopefully, he and Jordan have finished their snog session by now."

"Yeah, let's hope so," said Lily, looking to James to follow them.

"You go ahead, Lil. I need to talk to Padfoot for a second," he said, kissing her cheek again.

She smiled and then followed Raven to Remus's room, saying and gesturing behind her at the two best friends, "I honestly think they're having an affair."

Raven giggled as the two of them disappeared into Remus's room.

"So what the hell happened?" James asked. "We just got a message that he was here, but that he's okay?"

Sirius launched into an explanation of everything that happened in the park and everything Dumbledore had said to them. As soon as he'd finished, he had to start all over again because Peter had come wandering down the hall looking for Remus's room as well.

"That doesn't make any sense, Sirius," commented Peter, once he was given the explanation, too. "Why wouldn't he attack her? If he didn't attack Ashe then that means she isn't human. If she's not human, then what on earth is she?"

"She's human, Wormtail," Sirius answered.

"Then Remus would have attacked her."

"Not necessarily," said James, slowly. "Sirius, have you ever heard of a werewolf having a mate?"

Sirius laughed. "Oh, don't even go there. You're just trying to get me to stay away from her like everyone else these days."

"Wait, Prongs, what are you talking about?" Peter asked.

"Well, supposedly every werewolf has a human mate somewhere in the world. Most of them never find their mate, but if they ever come into contact with them, the wolf somehow instantly knows it. So like if Ashe is Moony's mate, he would know it, and he wouldn't _want_ to hurt her," James explained.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "But then why was he in there snogging her best friend a few seconds ago?"

"Because the wolf's mate isn't necessarily the same for the human. Remus may like Jordan, but the wolf's mate can still be Ashe. It's actually very rare that the wolf's mate and the human's mate are the same person."

"Then wouldn't he want to turn her so they can both be werewolves together?" asked Peter, scratching his head.

"Well, yeah, probably, but he doesn't want to piss her off. She's his mate, the only one who can control him. If she doesn't want him to turn her, then he probably wouldn't do it. It also depends what kind of wolf he is. If Remus's wolf is an alpha, he's more controlling, and he probably would turn her even if she told him not to. Or maybe it's because Remus likes Jordan that he doesn't want the wolf to turn Ashe."

Peter was staring at James, eating up every word. "Whoa, Prongs, how do you know all this?"

"I wasn't Head Boy for nothing, Wormtail," James answered. "Remus said Ashe wasn't a werewolf, so what other explanation is there?"

Sirius couldn't help himself from thinking what that would mean for him. If Raven was the wolf's mate, could she still date him? Werewolves were known to be extremely protective of their mates. Maybe that was why she had always adamantly refused to go out with him.

"…Black?" Raven was staring at him through furrowed brows. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

Sirius shook his head to clear it and looked around him. The hallway was now devoid of his other best friends. The only other person present was Raven, who had clearly come out to get the lot of them. "What? I'm sorry…I was…thinking."

"New concept for you, huh?" she teased, and then repeated. "The Healer said Remus needs to rest now. Do you want to come in and say goodbye?"

"Oh. Yes."

She held the door open for him and followed after him. "He was thinking," she explained to the others when they had both stepped back inside."

Remus laughed. "Never a good sign."

A/N: No, I still_ haven't given you a clear answer. Aren't I a stinker? Wouldn't you just like to tell me off? Click that little button that says "Review" and you can do just that! Oh come on then, you know you want to swear at me. I think I'd find it rather amusing, actually. I'll even egg you on a bit: "I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!" There, that should do it, yes? I thought so. That was from Monty Python, by the way. Thanks for reading! _

Luv, Liveley

still 


	5. A Different Side

Black Blood

Disclaimer: The list items at the beginning I just got from an email that was forwarded to me a while ago and I was saving them for the appropriate time. So I didn't come up with all of them on my own because I don't have that much time on my hands right now.

A/N: Thanks for being patient, most of you. My grandma passed away very suddenly and I haven't really felt like writing much. I don't need your pity, I just thought you should know the reason I haven't updated in a while. I'm sorry for the hold-up. Let's get on with the story. Thanks for reading and being understanding.

Luv, Liveley

* * *

Chapter 5 - A Different Side

James, Lily, Jordan, Peter, Sirius and Raven had agreed to stay with Remus until he was allowed to sleep; full moon or no, Remus had taken his wolf form and therefore was in need of the potions he normally took after transformations, one of which required him to stay awake until it went through his cycle. While Jordan and Raven had taken Lily off to find something to eat, Sirius and James got up to their old mischief, trying to lighten the moods of a few fellow bathroom-goers on the fourth floor. Predictably, this led to the two of them being banned from ever using a restroom in St. Mungo's ever again.

* * *

**A List of Things Sirius Lee Black is No Longer Allowed to Do or Say in the Fourth Floor Can at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries:**

1. Not allowed to introduce myself to the guy at the next urinal.

2. Not allowed to turn off the lights while stalls are occupied.

3. Not allowed to order a pizza, requesting that it be delivered to Stall #3 of the Men's Lavatory on the Fourth Floor, and refuse to leave the aforementioned stall until the pizza is received.

4. Not allowed to stick my head over an occupied stall and ask for the time.

5. Not allowed to lie down across all the sinks and pretend to be passed out.

6. Not allowed to time people's urination and encourage good performance.

7. Not allowed to hold my hand in front of the hand dryer while people are trying to use it or offer to blow-dry other people's hands with my mouth to save energy.

8. Not allowed to guard the paper towel dispenser in the name of the Earth Liberation Front.

9. Not allowed to say to the guy next to me at the urinals: "This is the best part about being gay."

10. Not allowed to say: "Huh, I don't remember eating asparagus," aloud while using one of the stalls.

11. Not allowed to keep turning off the water while someone's trying to wash their hands.

12. Not allowed to see how long I can do a raspberry while in one of the stalls before someone asks if I'm all right.

13. Not allowed to come up behind someone who's using a urinal and wrap their heads in toilet paper.

14. Not allowed to stage a fake mugging while stalls are occupied.

15. Not allowed to put up a sign that says: "Caution: Do Not Use Toilets."

16. Not allowed to wait until the bathroom is empty, get down on my hands and knees and hold my face over one of the toilets and wait for someone to come in, then pretend to be having a nice, refreshing drink.

17. Not allowed to complain aloud about the size of my penis.

18. Not allowed to identify people who have not washed their hands or follow them out of the bathroom, publicly announcing this fact to everyone.

19. Not allowed to say: "Hmm, I've never seen _that_ color before..." while inside one of the stalls.

20. Not allowed to congratulate myself on a job well done.

* * *

"So...wanna make a night of it, Ashe?" asked Sirius playfully as he, Raven, Jordan, Peter, James, and Lily exited St. Mungo's in the early hours of the morning. 

"All right, let's go," Raven responded, smirking.

Sirius froze on the spot and stared at her with his mouth half open. "What!"

Raven laughed. "I just wanted to see the look on your face, Black."

He sighed. "You're a tease, you know that?"

"I'm a tease because I refuse to fall for your charm?"

"No, that just means you're abnormal," answered Sirius. "You're a tease because one minute you're insulting me, and the next you're agreeing to shag me."

"I wasn't agreeing to shag you. I was just–"

"_Teaseing _me?"

Raven sighed. "Shut up."

"Anything you say, Sweetheart."

He gave her a captivating grin and then noticed they were alone. He quickly twisted around and saw the rest about one hundred meters behind them. Peter and Lily both had their hands on their hips, James had his arms crossed over his chest and was shaking his head, and Jordan was watching them both with amusement.

"What are you guys doing?" Sirius called back to them.

Lily responded. "You two bicker more than James and I do, and we're married."

"Besides, our car's this way," said James, taking Lily by the hand and heading down the deserted street.

"Your car?" laughed Sirius. "Is that a joke? What do you need a car for?"

"Because Lily can't apparate or floo this close to giving birth," he answered. "And the Knight Bus is just outright dangerous."

"It could force me into labor before the baby's ready," explained Lily more fully as James opened the door to a bright turquoise Ford Anglia.

"It's Arthur Weasley's car. I prefer a broom, but it's not bad Muggle technology," James conveyed.

"Do you even know how to drive it?" asked Peter.

"Lily does," James replied. "Her parents were Muggles, remember Wormtail?"

"Well, drive safely then, Lily," said Jordan.

"Yeah, and be sure to let us know when the baby comes," added Raven. "I'll pray he doesn't have his father's looks."

Lucky for James, his retort was drowned out when Lily started the car. "Yeah, and I'll pray my good pal Sirius shags some sense into you, Ashe."

As Lily drove off down the street and Peter apparated home, Sirius beamed from Jordan to Raven and put an arm around each.

"So...my place?"

"So...no," Jordan and Raven responded in unison.

"I can't even apparate you both home?" he tried again. "It's mighty dangerous in these parts at this time of night."

"We'll be fine, Black," Raven assured him. "Thanks anyway. Go home and get some sleep."

"Goodnight," said Jordan as the two of them grasped each other's arms and disapparated with a pop.

They reappeared in the park between two rows of houses.

Jordan smiled. "Night, Rave. I'll see ya."

Raven grinned, too. "Not if I see you first."

The two of them went their separate ways, Jordan to the left and into her house and Raven to the right, walking along the rows of houses until she came to her own steps. She unlocked her door with a wave of her wand, and just as she was about to open it, she heard a voice behind her.

"Now I know where you live, Ashe."

She turned. "Black, what are you doing?"

"I apparated after you. Just wanted to make sure you both got in safely. No need to thank me."

"Wasn't gonna," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not inviting you in."

"You live with your parents?" he asked.

"No, my parents are dead," she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Raven."

"It's all right. I was very young," she explained. "I lived with my uncle until I was of age."

"Is he the one who told you to avoid cocky but well-meaning guys who just want to get to know you a little bit?"

"You're a pretty hard guy to avoid, Black."

"That I am," he smirked and took her front steps two at a time until they were level with each other. "Want a goodnight kiss?"

"I think you're hoping for a goodnight lay."

He laughed. "That, too."

"I think I'll pass," she said, coolly.

"You sure about that, Ashe?" he asked, quickly. "Your cheeks are getting pinker by the second."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm cold."

He rubbed both of his hands together until they were warm and then placed them gently on both of her cheeks. "Still cold?"

She shivered. "Black..."

"Let me kiss you."

He slowly inched forward until he had her backed up against the door. He ran a thumb across her cheek as he noticed she was holding her breath.

"...Is there any way I can get you to leave without one?" she pleaded.

"You could say you'll go out with me tomorrow," he suggested.

Raven sighed. "It doesn't sound like I have much of a choice... All right."

He grinned. "You're only delaying the inevitable, Ashe." He let his hands fall from her face and stepped back.

"I'm not delaying the inevitable; you're _denying_ the inevitable."

He smirked. "See you tomorrow then."

* * *

"Good morning."

Sirius was standing on Raven's doorstep with a box of pastries in one hand, taking in her appearance and grinning wider every second. Having clearly just been woken up, her hair hung wildly around her frame and she wore a short, black nightgown that was just revealing enough to make Sirius's cheeks turn the tiniest bit pink.

Her eyes bore into his as she stood staring at him.

"Can I come in this time? I brought you breakfast."

She smirked and stepped back to admit him.

Her house was small and cozy. Sirius chose the hallway to the left rather than the right and found himself in her kitchen. Raven closed the door and followed behind him.

He looked back and her and smirked as she stood opposite him, still staring silently. "You're not awake yet, are you?"

"I'm more awake than_ you_ are."

"I don't think you are. For one thing, you're staring at me like you've never seen me before, but I'm told my sex appeal is overwhelming in the morning," he teased.

Once again, Raven remained silent, keeping eye contact with him, and watching his every move.

"...You mind if we eat? I'm starving. I'll find us something to eat off of. Why don't you go splash some water on your face or something? You're like a zombie, Sweets."

She walked slowly past him and into the next room, and he called after her, "Not that I don't find it horribly sexy..."

Sirius found some plates in a cupboard and set two out on the table before she was back.

He chanced another look at her. "You going to wear that on our date?"

"If you want."

"Really?" Sirius rose an eyebrow. "Not even any hostility for me today? I'm disappointed in you, Ashe. I was looking forward to it all night. Here, have a seat,"

He pulled out one of the chairs for her and she sat. Sirius sat across from her and dug into the pastries. He was on his third one before he noticed she hadn't moved.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I don't eat."

"You...ate last night."

"I don't eat," she repeated.

"You're not a morning person, are you? How about something to drink then?"

She smirked. "I would_ love_ a drink."

"All right," Sirius said, getting up and opening her refrigerator. "What have you got in here?"

He got out some juice and found glasses for both of them. He set the glasses on the counter and poured the juice. When he replaced the juice in the refrigerator, she was standing behind him.

Sirius grimaced. "All right, listen, I didn't mean to wake you up. I'm usually not up before noon myself, I just wanted to see you _not_ moving your lips."

She said nothing.

"You remember? I asked if you ever stopped moving those lips of yours and you said only when you were asleep."

"Speaking of lips..."

Raven moved forward and was about to press her lips against his when his hand caught her stomach to keep her back and he rose an eyebrow at her.

"What's this?"

"It's called snogging. It's fun. We should try it."

She moved forward again, but by quickly placing both hands around her upper arms, Sirius held her back. "Raven, I'm not even going to try denying that I want to snog you senseless, but do you mind me asking what the hell has gotten into you? Last night you wouldn't even let me give you a little kiss goodbye, and now you're– What are you doing?"

She had unbuttoned his shirt and moved in to kiss his neck. "Shh." As he stiffened, she kissed his neck a second time.

Sirius closed his eyes, relishing it for a second, and then sighed. "Raven...whatever this is, it isn't you...and I'm not sure I want you like this..."

She paused to grin, "Your mind says otherwise," and kissed him again.

His eyes were shut tightly now and he was trying desperately not to enjoy it. "You don't know what's in my mind..."

She laughed softly. "That's what _you_ think."

This time, she licked lightly along his neck before kissing it. He shivered as his eyes closed again and rolled back into his head.

"Well..." a voice said from behind them, "what's going on in here?"

Raven shot him a look and sighed. "Oh, go away, Remus."

"Remus!" Sirius choked out. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I was released from St. Mungo's this morning," he said, though his eyes didn't leave Raven's as he spoke.

"Oh... Um, I just got here. I think Raven might be...sleep walking."

"Sirius, could you give us a minute?" asked Remus, shifting his gaze to him for the first time.

Sirius shrugged and started for the living room, but Raven grabbed his hand as he passed and held him back. "No...don't go. Please? Make Remus leave."

Remus stepped forward and spoke firmly. "Let go of him, Raven."

The voice that answered him was almost a growl. "No!"

Sirius looked from Raven to Remus and decided he had no idea what was going on. He squeezed his eyes shut for a split-second to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and when he opened them again, Raven was suddenly across the room. Remus seemed to be expecting it, and caught her arm as she tried to pass him.

"No, Raven. You're not going to fight this." He held her strongly in place as he looked up at Sirius again. "Sirius, please, I need you to leave. Just wait in the living room. She'll be all right; I promise. I know you don't understand this, but everything will be explained to you in a minute."

He nodded and left.

* * *

A/N: I had fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. In the next chapter you'll get some answers, I promise. Again, sorry for the delay in updating. I'd luv it if you'd review and let me know what you thought. Thanks!

Luv, Liveley


	6. Complicated

Black Blood

Disclaimer: For the beginning, I'd like to thank my best friend. The idea came from a funny RP session we did a while back. The only clue I gave her as to what this was about is laughing when she mentioned watching Phantom of the Opera last night. Hope you like it, Jo!

A/N: Here it is. _Finally_, I know. You're finally getting a clear answer in regard to Raven's situation and she's going to give it directly to you. I'm guessing it was pretty obvious, especially if you read _Renegade_ or know anything whatsoever about– ...I almost gave it away. About...these sorts of things. Just a head's up, if the beginning makes absolutely no sense to you, keep reading. You'll see why later. Thanks. Oh, by the way, for some reason is being weird and won't let me edit my stories, so I'm sorry if this doesn't look exactly right.

---------------------------------------------

Chapter 6 - Complicated

Smiling reassuringly at Sirius, Remus entered the living room and sat down. "She's all right now. I got her all squared away."

"Remus," Sirius began, unable to stand the suspense any longer, "is Raven your mate? Tell me the truth."

Remus sighed. "Well, I suppose there's no use hiding it now. Raven is Raoul's mate."

Sirius stared, uncomprehending. "R-raoul?

He nodded. "Raoul is the wolf's personality inside me. He's French."

"Oh..." said Sirius. "So...she's Raoul or whoever's mate and that's why you stopped her from...well, seducing me?"

"Raoul willed me to do it; it wasn't really me. I want Jordan, but he wants Raven. She had to talk him out of coming in here and attacking you to defend her honor."

"I didn't know..." Sirius began.

"I know that, Sirius; it's okay. He's agreed to let it go this one time. You can thank Raven for it."

Sirius locked eyes with Remus quickly. "What did she do?"

"I don't think you want to know," said Remus. "Just don't worry about it. I have to go."

"Okay..." Sirius still looked extremely confused. "...Bye."

"See you later." Remus left.

A minute or two later, Raven came into the living room, still in her nightgown. She sat next to him, where Remus had been sitting a moment ago.

"I'm really sorry, Sirius. I should have told you a long time ago."

"So...if you're Raoul's mate, what does that mean for us?" asked Sirius, afraid of the answer. "Are you allowed to date other people? Because I _really_ like you, Raven."

"I like you, too, Sirius..."

"Is this why you always pushed me away? Because you knew we couldn't be together?"

Raven nodded. "I didn't want you to get hurt. If Raoul thought I didn't like you, I hoped he wouldn't bother to kill you over liking me."

"Well, what happened this morning?"

Raven glanced whimsically up into Sirius's eyes. "I guess I just can't deny that I want you, Sirius. I can play it off as much as I want, but the truth is, you're all I've _ever_ wanted."

The two of them locked eyes and then hastily met lips. As the heat rose quickly in both of them, Sirius wrapped his arms around Raven and kissed her like he'd never kissed anyone before.

After several fervid moments had passed, Raven pulled back and stared up at Sirius with a fearful expression. "Sirius...what about Raoul?"

He shook his head, adamantly. "Don't talk about him. I don't care; he can kill me. At least I'll die happy."

Sirius pulled her strongly to him again and covered her mouth with his a second time. They kissed passionately and endlessly...until they heard a threatening growl behind them. As Sirius whipped around, he glimpsed a mane of sandy-brown hair lunging at him with inch-long fangs bared.

--------------------------------------------------------

"Padfoot!"

Sirius was shaken awake and when he opened his eyes, jumped back at the sight of Remus's face so close to him and fell off the couch. It took him a minute to register that it had all been a dream.

"Wh-what?"

"You fell asleep," said Remus.

"Obviously," Sirius replied, rubbing his eyes and standing up.

Remus looked back at Raven who was standing just behind him. "I'm going to go, okay? You all right?"

Raven nodded. "Thank you, Remus."

He smiled. "Just returning the favor, Rave. See you later, Sirius."

"Yeah..." replied Sirius, distractedly.

Raven watched Remus go until she couldn't put off looking at him any longer. She met his eyes and smiled weakly. "You should sit down."

As he sat on her couch, Raven took a seat across from him. They were both silent for a few moments, and then Raven sighed and lowered her head to rest on her hand. "Sirius, I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't do that. Nothing happened."

"I _know_ what happened...and I should have told you about it before something like this came about..."

"Told me _what _exactly?"

She sighed again. "It's...complicated."

"All right, just answer one question I have first: are you Remus's mate?"

She looked at him like he had gone absolutely nuts. "Um...what?"

"Are you Remus's mate when he's a wolf?" Sirius repeated. "James was saying that werewolves can have human mates, and they're the only ones who can control them. Are you Remus's mate?"

"No."

"Then how were you able to stop him last night?"

Raven didn't know how to answer. "He can't hurt me..."

"Why not?" pressed Sirius.

She sighed. "This is very hard to just come out and tell someone, you know."

"...Kind of like telling someone you're a werewolf?" suggested Sirius.

"I'm not a werewolf...but I am similar to a werewolf in many ways."

"Okay..." said Sirius. "How?"

Raven sighed. "I don't know how to tell you without you freaking outཀ"

"I promise I won't freak out, Ashe. Didn't Remus tell you about when we found out he was a werewolf?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, but that's just it - you found out. He didn't have to figure out how to tell you."

"Well, is there anything you _do_ feel comfortable talking about? I mean you obviously have the ability to control werewolves, and a few minutes ago in the kitchen, you were implying that you could read my mind." He looked questioningly at her. "Can you?"

Raven hesitated and then sighed. "Sometimes."

"...Sometimes?" he prodded.

"It's complicated, okay? This morning I could. Sometimes I can't."

"Okay," Sirius smiled reassuringly at her. "So what else can you do?"

"I...rarely ever get sick."

Sirius's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't get sick? What do you mean?"

"I mean like I've never had a cold, or the flu, or the chicken pox," Raven explained.

"Well why don't you get sick like normal people then?" asked Sirius, starting to get extremely confused.

"...Because I don't," she answered.

"Okay...well, that must be nice. But that can't be it. I mean 'Oh wow, you can't get sick and you can sometimes read people's minds!' That doesn't sound so bad, Ashe."

"No, it isn't," Raven agreed. "I'm telling you like this because the perks are easier to talk about. You said to start with something I feel comfortable saying."

"You're right, I'm sorry. What are some more of the 'perks' as you put it?"

"Well...I can heal faster than most people, and—"

Sirius interrupted, "But you just said you didn't get sick."

"Actually, I said I _rarely ever_ get sick. There are some more serious illnesses that I could get. And I meant I can heal, like flesh wounds, for example, a lot quicker than most people."

"Oh..." Sirius's head was now swimming. "What else?"

"Um...I can move so fast you wouldn't be able to see."

Something clicked in Sirius's brain. "Like teleport?"

"Um...yeah," Raven answered uneasily. She could see he was beginning to guess.

"Okay, you can read people's minds, you don't get sick, you can heal yourself, and you can teleport..." Sirius trailed off as he went through each thing over in his mind. Then he looked up at her, "You're a vampire, aren't you?"

"No," Raven answered.

"You're not?"

"Okay, I'm _half_ vampire," she stated.

"Half?"

"My mother was a witch, but my father was a vampire."

"Oh, I get it," Sirius nodded. "That's why you can read people's minds _sometimes_ and you don't get common sicknesses?"

"Right. My powers sort of come and go since I'm only half vampire. And I guess I'll age about half as quickly as you will."

Sirius looked sideways at her, puzzled, and said, "What? That makes no sense. If you did, you'd be, like, nine now."

"Right. But because I was born of a vampire and it's sort of unheard of to make children vampires, my vampire abilities didn't begin with birth. As I grew up, I developed them. Once I'm of age, and I was just this year, my aging starts to slow down until I age half as much as normal people."

"So when I'm fifty, you'll be twenty-five?" asked Sirius, starting to smirk.

"I'll _look_ twenty-five, yes."

Sirius grinned. "I sure do know how to pick 'em," he teased.

Raven remained silent.

"So wait..." Sirius was starting to put together some of the things that had happened that morning, "when we were in the kitchen and you said you didn't eat, you only drank, did you mean..."

"...Blood, yes."

Sirius blinked a few times. "Were you going to bite me?"

Raven bit her lip nervously and looked at her carpet. "...Yes."

"...But you're not now?"

"No. Remus made me take a potion that satisfies my thirst for blood. As long as I take it in the morning, I won't get like I did. You rang the doorbell just as I was heading into the kitchen to take it, and I guess when I saw you through the keyhole, I turned without knowing it."

"So when you say your powers come and go, it's like sometimes you can all the sudden read people's minds?" inquired Sirius.

"My powers come and go when I'm a vampire. If I take my potion on time and everything, then I don't have any of those powers and I don't crave blood. They tell me I could technically still turn if I was extremely angry or scared or something like that, but that's never happened before. But basically my powers when I'm a vampire are a bit sporadic," Raven finished.

"Like how?" Sirius asked.

"Like healing. Sometimes it takes me half an hour to heal a paper cut, sometimes up to one or two days. With mind reading and teleporting, sometimes I can and sometimes I can't."

Sirius nodded. "But that still doesn't sound so bad, Ashe. I mean, you can heal faster, you don't get sick, you have quicker reflexes..."

"But I'd feel like taking a bite out of someone's neck half the time! Don't you get it?"

"So you take your potion."

"No, you don't understand," said Raven. "I didn't always have that potion. Why do you think you never noticed me until your seventh year, Black? I was hardly ever there. The potion wasn't developed until my fifth year, so until then, I couldn't go to my regular classes. I had to stay away from people."

Sirius nodded. "I guess it must have been hard. But have you ever actually bitten anyone?"

Raven shook her head. "I stayed away from people as much as possible so that wouldn't happen."

"But how could you?" asked Sirius, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know what I'd do without my friends."

"Well, let me put it this way, then: wouldn't you rather stay away from your friends than risk hurting or killing them without meaning to? Ask your friend, Remus. He'd know what that feels like."

Sirius nodded slowly. "You're right. I'd do the same thing."

"I felt like a monster every time I was around other people. I'm sure Remus did, too, sometimes."

Sirius reached out his hand and took Raven's. "You're not a monster. And none of this is your fault."

Raven looked up and rose an eyebrow at Sirius, but didn't withdraw. "...You're holding my hand, Black."

He smirked. "Am I? I hadn't noticed."

She now tried to pull her hand back, but Sirius tightened his grip.

"Let go..."

He grinned and kept his hold on it. "I'm just holding your hand, Ashe. Why do you get so jumpy?"

"Because I don't like getting too close to people. Can't you see why now?"

"No, I can't! You don't need to go through life like that! You're a vampire, not a leper! Come here..."

His right hand still holding strongly onto hers, he reached out and closed his left hand around her wrist and gently but firmly pulled it toward him. He held her wrist in pace and used his right hand to open up her palm.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just relax; I'm not going to bite you. You're the one with fangs."

He held her hand open in his as he ran his thumb slowly up her palm and back down again. As he did this, Raven noticed she was holding her breath.

"Such a little hand to hold so much trepidation in its palm."

Raven was staring at Sirius like she had been put into a trance, but he felt her shiver. He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it.

"You're not a monster, Raven. You're just fine."

Raven nodded, her throat too tight to speak, and Sirius let go of her hand.

"So..." started Sirius, growing back his smirk in an effort to lighten the mood. "Ready to go on our date now?"

"...Date?" asked Raven. "What date? There's no date, Black."

"Wha–yes there is! Why do you think I came here in the first place? You said last night you'd go out with me today!"

"I was just trying to get rid of you!" exclaimed Raven.

Sirius scoffed. "Well, that's just too damn bad because we're going on a date."

"No, we're not, Black."

"Oh yes, we _are_, Ashe! You owe me!"

"I _owe _you? Do you remember what happened this morning? I think that's payment enough!"

Sirius grinned broadly at her. "...It was pretty sexy..." At this, Raven bit her lip and blushed, "...but I wholly prefer the fiery and outspoken version of you, just so you know."

"Hah… Yeah, well, I think I prefer…you're absence."

Sirius looked sideways at her, solemnly and sadly. "Why are you so mean to me, Ashe?"

Raven let herself grin. "You're such a piece of work. I'll bet that works on just about everyone else you know, doesn't it?"

Sirius's frown turned mischievously into a grin again. "...Not James."

"Speaking of James..." Raven began, pausing to bite her lip uneasily. "You're going to tell him, aren't you?"

"Tell him what?" Sirius asked her.

"About your little encounter with my other half this morning, what else?"

"Not if you don't want me to," he said.

"But you're best friends. Don't you two tell each other everything?" inquired Raven.

Sirius suddenly appeared disgusted. "Ew, no! We're not _girls_!"

Raven let herself giggle. "Really? You won't?"

"It's not my thing to tell, Ashe. Your secret's safe with me."

Raven was almost impressed with his conviction when the corners of Sirius's mouth began to turn dangerously upward.

"I'm sure we can...work _something_ out..."

Now she rapidly changed expressions. "You–"

Sirius quickly put both of his hands up to signify surrender. "Kidding."

"I know, but you're so–"

"Charming?" interjected Sirius before she could finish.

"No!"

"Irresistible?"

She glared. "_Nooooo_."

He smirked. "Devastatingly handsome?"

Raven hit him across the chest lightly with a smirk now on her face as well.

"You like it," stated Sirius.

"No, I don't," she countered. "_You_ like it; you're in love with yourself."

"Well, can you blame me?" he simpered.

Raven rolled her eyes.

"But seriously, if there's one thing I am, it's loyal. You don't have to worry. I've kept Moony's secret."

Raven nodded. "Thanks, Black."

"Don't mention it."

Raven shrugged. "Okay, I won't."

He grinned charmingly at her. "So...you hungry?"

Raven gave him an untrusting look.

"Oh come on! I _know_ you're hungry! You didn't eat or more importantly drink anything this morning. I know that for a fact."

Raven thought for a minute and sighed. "All right, we can go eat something, but only because I feel bad for trying to kill you this morning."

Sirius grinned. "Fair enough. ...Wait, you were going to try and kill me?"

"...That's generally what happens when a vampire feeds, Black."

"Oh, shit... Wow... Well, couldn't you have just made me a vampire instead of letting me die?"

"Well, vampires don't usually sire unless they're looking for a companion, so..." Raven trailed off.

"Well, maybe you wanted me as your companion 'cause you were being all sexy and seductive," Sirius hoped.

"That was just to get you off your guard so it'd be easier to bite you, actually..."

"Oh..." Sirius ran a hand coolly through his hair. "So if it wasn't for Remus showing up at exactly the right moment this morning, I could be dead right now?"

Raven was now looking at the floor and sitting rigidly, having just realized herself how dangerous the entire situation could have been. "Right..."

Sirius was silent for a minute while he worked that out. When he looked up at Raven again, he realized the grief she must have been feeling at that moment.

He put on a grin. "Hey, did you know a near-death experience is said to bring about an intense desire to have sex?"

Raven quickly broke a smile. "Oh yeah, Black... I feel it..."

Sirius choked. "Really!"

Raven grabbed the collar of his shirt to bring his face closer to her. He looked down at her,

dumbfounded as she bit her lip provocatively. "Just not...with you!" She teased, pushing him backward again as they both enjoyed a good laugh.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Yikes, that was complicated. And I probably missed some crucial detail. If anyone has questions, please feel free to email/IM me or ask in your review and I'll try to get back to you (although that's a little more annoying to try and do). Thanks. Don't forget to review, okay?


	7. Capture

Black Blood

Disclaimer: You should know this stuff by now.

_A/N: Those of you who reviewed, thanks a lot. I greatly appreciate it. This chapter is confusing, but necessary. I'm really not that good at trying to describe things, so let me know if there's anything I can do to better explain what's going on to you. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!_

_Luv, Liveley _

* * *

Chapter 7 - Capture

"Ashe?"

"Yes, Black."

"Want to go see a movie?"

"A movie?

"Yeah, they're like how Muggles–"

"I _know_ what a movie is, Black. And no, I don't want to."

"Why not?" asked Sirius.

"Not with you, anyway. It's too dark in there, and too intimate, and too–"

"Perfect," Sirius grinned.

"No."

"Fine, we'll just eat then. Do you like French food?"

"Black, would you stop trying to make this into a date? French restaurants are really fancy."

"Well, I'm hungry. Fine, here." Sirius led her to a place that sold sandwiches on the side of the street and bought a few things. "Turkey or ham?" He offered her both.

"Turkey," she took it. "You didn't have to–"

"Pay for it, I know. Because this isn't a date, right?"

Raven nodded.

Sirius didn't feel like arguing with Raven for the next half hour, so he said, "All right, you can pay next time we have a non-date," so she would drop it.

She surveyed him skeptically for a few seconds and then shrugged. "Okay."

"Wanna sit?"

Sirius led her over to a park bench and they sat eating in silence for a few moments.

"Is it good?" asked Sirius. Raven nodded because she was still chewing. "Not as good as my blood?" he teased.

She smirked and the threw her wrapper at him.

As it hit him in the chest and then fell to the ground, Sirius gasped. "Litterer."

Raven laughed. "You're the one that didn't catch it."

"All right, I'm the litterer." Sirius grinned, mischievously, "You should punish me."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Something tells me you'd like that, wouldn't you, Black?"

"A little too much," he agreed. "You want to come back to my place and–"

"Yeah, I'm going to stop you," said Raven, calmly. "No need to waste another of your pick-up lines on me; the answer is still no."

Sirius cleared his throat importantly, "I was going to say, 'do you want to come back to my place and we can invite Jordi and Remus, and maybe Lily and James if they're up to it?'"

"You were _not _going to say that."

"...Okay, I wasn't. But do you?"

"Don't you want to go out and do something without my company? I mean we've been together all day, basically."

"I like being with you," Sirius responded, sincerely.

The two of them met eyes for a moment and Raven bit her lip.

"Even after what you found out this morning?"

"Yes, Ashe. That doesn't change anything," answered Sirius.

Raven smiled. "Thanks, Black."

"Sure thing, love." Raven rolled her eyes at the pet name he called her, but Sirius continued. "Won't vampires die if they're in the sun?"

Raven nodded. "True vampires will, yes."

"But not you? Because you said when you answered the door this morning, you had already turned."

"No, I probably wouldn't die. Like my other abilities, it fluctuates when I'm a vamp. Some days, I'll get a sunburn just going out to get the mail. Other days, I just start to feel a bit dizzy after a few hours out in the sun," Raven explained.

"But that's only when you're an actual vampire?" asked Sirius.

"Right. So right now, I'm okay because I took my potion."

"So, you know any other vamps?"

"Yeah," she answered, "a few. Why, you want to meet some?"

"Nah, you'll always be my favorite little vixen," he said, smirking. "I was just curious if you had any possessive, vampire boyfriends or anything."

Raven shook her head. "Not anymore."

"So you have before? Y-you cheated on me??"

Raven sighed. "A - I can't cheat on you because we're not together, and B - it was last summer."

"You were sixteen, then? How old was the vamp?"

"...Two hundred and thirty-three."

Sirius let out his bark-like laugh. "Is that why we can't have a relationship? You like older men?"

Raven smirked. "You _are_ older than me."

"Not _that_ old! ...Wait, are you telling me there's a chance for us?" Raven said nothing. "No, I should know better than that by now, right?"

Raven continued to smirk. "If it makes you feel any better, Black, I didn't sleep with him."

Sirius immediately grinned. "Saving yourself for me, huh?"

"Hardly."

"Okay, not him, but who else?" asked Sirius.

"I'm not answering that!" Raven began to blush. "You going to tell me how many girls you've slept with?"

Without missing a beat, Sirius responded, "Fifty-two."

Raven gasped, "WHAT?!"

"Sirius smirked. "I'm kidding; I just pulled that number out of my head."

Raven hit him and he laughed. "It's probably close to that from what I heard."

"Oh, come on, Ashe, it is not! It's nowhere near that many, okay? I promise. Maybe you know me better than the girls I've slept with, but there hasn't been as many as everyone thinks."

"...I know you better than girls you've had sex with?? That's absurd! I hardly know you, Black."

"You _do_ know me, Ashe. And that's why you like me," Sirius said, confidently.

"I don't–"

Sirius put his index finger to Raven's lips before she could go on. "Don't get all jumpy on me. I meant as a friend. If you didn't, you wouldn't be putting up with me right now, and you wouldn't have let me in on your little secret this morning. If you won't ever like me as more than a friend, I'll deal with it. But don't tell me we aren't at least friends by now."

Raven was biting her lip, listening to him. When he finished, the two of them sat studying each other.

After a few moments, Raven sighed. "Nice speech, Black."

He smirked. "Thanks, I try. You ready to go?"

She nodded and stood. They walked in silence back to Raven's.

Sirius met her eyes as she opened her door. "I'll see you soon, Ashe."

She smirked. "I look forward to it, Black."

* * *

"So," started Jordan, "I hear you went on a date with Black today."

Raven sighed. "Dammit, did _he_ tell you that?"

"No, he told Remus who told me."

"Well, it was _not_ a date," Raven declared.

"I also hear you told him your secret. How very Clark Kent of you."

Raven smiled and rolled her eyes. "Jordi...shut up."

"You like him, Raven," said Jordan. "That's why you were all over him when you turned."

"It is not! I was all over him only because I could sense it was the easiest way to get his blood. You think you know me, but when I'm a vampire, I'm completely different."

"Okay, Rave. But it wouldn't kill you to let someone in once in awhile, you know."

Raven laughed. "Yeah, okay Miss I-don't-want-anyone-but-Remus! You've liked him for a good five years and you two are only now together."

Jordan laughed, too. "Okay, I propose we no longer talk about guys."

"Deal," agreed Raven, smirking.

"Although there isn't much else to–"

Raven cut her off by throwing her arm out to stop Jordan from continuing forward.

Two hooded figures were moving along the trail ahead of them, arguing with each other.

"Death Eaters," Jordan whispered. "We should go a different way."

"Hang on..." Raven said slowly. She pulled Jordan with her as she hid from view. "Let's see what they're up to."

"Rave..." Jordan started to protest.

"We'll stay hidden. They won't see us."

Jordan sighed and nodded. The two of them began to creep along the edge of the park after the Death Eaters. They were arguing heatedly, but Raven and Jordan could only hear fragments of what was said as they crept along after them.

"The Dark Lord is hopeful that he will be of use! That means we do not question his judgment!" they heard one say.

"You trusting fool!" the tallest responded. "He was friends with them in school! You were there! With your own eyes, you saw how close they all were! Why would he ever betray them, Snape? And where are Crabbe and Goyle?"

"Do you doubt the persuasion power of the Dark Lord? Do you doubt him, Lucius?! He is willing to betray them because he can see that the Master is more powerful than any wizard that has ever lived! Only fools like Dumbledore's followers dare to oppose him!"

As the two of them grew more and more angry at each other and began to quicken their pace, Raven and Jordan were having trouble keeping up with them. Their words were getting lost in each step they took to follow.

Raven had just inched forward and slowly started to creep past a light patch from the moon when she was seized from behind and pulled backward into a darkened alleyway. One strong arm was wrapped snugly around her waist, the other, a hand over her mouth, keeping her from making a sound. Jordan had frozen for a split-second and then began to dig in her pocket for her wand.

A familiar voice sounded in Raven's ear that made her shiver. "Well hello, love. Doesn't this bring back memories?"

As Sirius removed the hand over her mouth and placed it on her shoulder to keep his hold on her, Raven sighed and relaxed, glad it wasn't a Death Eater. "Let me go, Black."

She could hear the smirk in his voice. "I know who you are this time."

Jordan relaxed, too, when she realized it was Sirius. "There are Death Eaters out there, Black."

"I know, what do you think I'm doing here?" he asked. "The question is, what the hell are you two doing? Trying to get yourselves killed?"

"We weren't going to do anything, just watch them," answered Jordan. "Relax."

"You're not struggling as much as last time, Ashe. It disappoints me," Sirius conveyed.

Raven smirked. "Forgive me. I'm getting used to you manhandling me."

"Well, I'll have to try something new then," he responded, suggestively. "By the way, your hair smells intoxicating." His face right next to her ear, he could no doubt smell it.

"It's called shampoo," Raven stated, irritably. "Black, don't you have a job to do?"

"I suppose," he said, letting his arms drop from her waist. "Come on," he took her hand and led her back out of the alley, going to check on the status of the Death Eaters.

Raven followed him, but remained in the shadows next to Jordan to let her cheeks adjust back to their normal color. Jordan sent a smirk her way.

Sirius turned back around. "It looks like they're busy arguing about something. They should be distracted enough. I want you two to go as quick as you can back to one of your houses and stay there, do you get me?"

"Black–" started Raven.

Sirius interrupted. "Don't make me kiss you to shut you up, Ashe. You know I'll gladly do it. I don't want either of you to get hurt, and Remus has the night off, okay? I have to stay on them or I'd escort you. Don't split up. I'll come check and make sure you made it safely when I'm done here."

"But–" she started again without thinking.

Sirius wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her towards him. He leaned down so their faces were inches apart and rose an eyebrow at her.

"Don't make me ruin our friendship, Ashe. You're not going to argue with me tonight. This is dangerous."

Raven held her breath until he had finished talking, then she swallowed and nodded. "Be careful, Black."

He smirked. "I always am, love."

"I mean it."

His smirk grew. "Expressing genuine concern for my well-being? That's always a good sign." He leaned in toward her.

She stepped back and shook her head. "Not now, Black."

He blinked. "Later??"

She gave him a look.

"Very well," said Sirius, putting on a pouty face, "off you go."

He watched Raven's dark hair whipping behind her as she and Jordan ran back the way they came, then he turned his attention back to the Death Eaters. Five minutes passed and they continued to argue. Sirius rolled his eyes. This was getting boring. He couldn't tell who the Death Eaters were and he couldn't hear a word of what they were saying. He needed to get closer. But just as he crept out of his alleyway and began to dart out and into the next, he froze.

Two more Death Eaters had come into Sirius' view.

"Hey, guys! We have a little surprise for each of you!" the one carrying three wands and pulling a struggling Raven behind him called out.

"Yeah," the one carrying Jordan over his back added, "Gryffindors!"

Sirius' insides writhed painfully as he watched in horror. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly for a moment, hoping he had fallen asleep and slipped into a nightmare.

"Dammit," he said under his breath as he reopened them and pulled out his wand.

Jordan was kicking fruitlessly in the air, trying to get her Death Eater to lose his balance and drop her. She was having no luck at this as the Death Eater was more than three times her size. Since Raven's Death Eater had her around the waist and was purposefully digging his fingers into her sides to cause her pain, she was able to elbow him as hard as she could in the chest so he would lose his grip on her. He staggered for a moment and she ran wildly forward, but in another instant he had seized her again with a hand at her throat.

"Crabbe, Goyle, are you completely nonsensical?" yelled Snape. "What do we want with them? We don't have time for this!"

"We ran into them on our way, thought they'd make for some fun," said Goyle as he tightened his grip on Raven's throat and she began to cough.

"We are _not_ here for fun! We have a job to do! The Dark Lord–"

Lucius's wand suddenly flew out of his hand and into the air, right at Snape. A hand darted out caught it right in front of his face before anyone had time to react.

"The _Dark Lord _is about to lose a couple of his useless minions if you don't tell those pathetic lumps to let the girls go," came a voice that sounded so menacing Raven and Jordan hardly recognized it. Sirius jabbed his wand hard into Snape's back. "Evening, _Snivellus_."

Snape flinched, but he sneered. "_Black_."

Sirius allowed himself to smirk. "Yeah, that's right. I said let them go, you two." He thrust his wand into Snape's back again, this time causing him to grunt in pain. "Tell them."

"Do it," snarled Snape.

Crabbe put Jordan roughly back on her feet and Goyle, still with his hand around Raven's throat, threw her forward, angrily.

Sirius twitched. "You all right?"

As Raven stood, her hand went to her throat. Jordan stumbled and quickly righted herself. They both nodded.

"Goyle, give them back their wands and your own," ordered Sirius as he in turn took Snape's wand from his hand.

Goyle did so, but not without glaring begrudgingly at Sirius. Raven and Jordan took their wands and Crabbe's and Goyle's and turned the tables, pointing their wands at the Death Eaters, as Sirius was.

"No," said Sirius, firmly. "Both of you get out of here now!"

Raven started to protest, but Jordan's wand suddenly flew out of her hands and into the air. Lucius lunged at Raven, but with a bang and a flick of her wand, he fell to the ground, stunned. Raven whipped around, but before she could see the source, her wand, too, flew into the air.

"Well, what have we here? Two of my _favorite_ people," said Bellatrix gleefully behind them. She jabbed her wand hard into Sirius's back. "Don't even think about moving."

She looked past Sirius with an expression of extreme dislike and then gave Raven her most menacing glare. "I knew I couldn't avoid seeing my cousin for the rest of my life, but I never expected I'd have to see your _pretty little_ face again, Ashe," she continued, sarcastically.

Raven was still grasping her throat with one hand while holding onto hers and Goyle's wands with the other. When she spoke, her voice was raspy from the strain Goyle had put on her vocal chords. "Believe me, the feeling is mutual."

"Why don't you give Goyle back the wands and let him diffindo all your hair off," said Bellatrix with a malicious sneer. "I've always wanted to just come up behind you and pull it all out."

Raven twitched but didn't move.

Bellatrix rose an eyebrow at her. "Unless of course you'd rather watch your boyfriend shriek in pain first."

But before Raven could protest or Bellatrix could raise her wand, Sirius spoke. "Be my guest, Bella, if you want to take Snivellus here home in a body bag.

Bellatrix laughed. "Go ahead and kill him, Sirius! I'd do it myself if the Dark Lord didn't favor him so much," she replied with annoyance.

"Then, I'm guessing he'd be pretty upset when he heard you let him die," Sirius said.

"He doesn't have to know."

Sirius forced a laugh just to anger her. "The only person you're fooling, _dear cousin_, is yourself. You never were any good at legilimency."

She sneered. "I can improve. Don't just stand there. Crabbe, Goyle, you're bigger than they are!"

Goyle again lunged at Raven, who dodged and stunned him. But Crabbe was slightly smarter than Goyle. He swung one hand at Jordan's head and as she ducked, he grabbed for the wands. He pointed his at Raven and Jordan's at its owner. Raven in turn pointed hers at him.

Bellatrix smirked. "Now give me your wand, Black."

Sirius laughed fakely again. "Oh please! Crabbe can't hit one target, let alone two at once! However..." Sirius grabbed the back of Snape's robes and pulled him backward as hard as he could. He lept out of the way allowing Snape to fall back into Bellatrix. Sirius jumped back up and stood over them both sprawled on the ground together. "...we both know _I_ can."

Sirius couldn't tell whether Snape or Bellatrix looking up at him hated him more at that moment, but he didn't have much time to dwell on it.

A voice snarled from behind him. "Don't move, Black!"

Lucius had come to and snuck up behind Raven while she was still pointing her wand at Goyle. He had her around the neck as well with his wand level with her heart.

"She can die quickly or painfully. It's your choice."

Sirius looked livid. "Don't you touch her, Malfoy!"

Lucius tightened his grip with a vicious smirk on his face and Raven began struggling to get free.

"If you let them both go, you can have me," said Sirius.

"What do _I _want with you?" he squeezed her harder.

Sirius continued, insistently. "They're not worth anything to Voldemort, Lucius! I am!"

"You're worth nothing!" countered Lucius.

"He's an Order member, Lucius," said Snape, glaring at Sirius. "He can be of more use."

"Fine! Crabbe, let her go," ordered Lucius. Crabbe lowered his wand and stepped away from Jordan. "Black, give Bella the wands."

Sirius glared at Lucius. "Let Raven go first. You're hurting her."

Lucius hesitated.

"There's nothing to think about, Malfoy! I can come quietly or I can take your wife's sister and your loyal little lapdog here with me. The choice is _yours._"

Lucius sneered and threw Raven to the ground at his feet. She again put her hand to her throat and coughed violently, gasping for breath.

"Jordi, help her up and both of you get out of here," Sirius urged.

"Give me your wand, Black!" snarled Snape after getting to his feet, Bellatrix as well.

Sirius watched Jordan help Raven up and locked eyes with the latter before Jordan started to pull her away. But Raven didn't seem to want to move.

"Wait just a minute," said Bellatrix growing a devilish smirk. "Why don't we let Black say goodbye to his little girlfriends."

"We don't have time for games, Bella!" protested Snape. "Let's take Black while we can!"

Bella shook her head, grinning from ear to ear. "I want to se her _cry_," she answered, eyeing Raven. "Go ahead, Black," she pointed her wand at him.

Sirius walked slowly forward to where the two of them still stood. He looked to Jordan first. "Just get to your house and stay there. It's closer, okay?" She nodded and swallowed, trying hard not to cry. He hugged her.

Then he turned to Raven and forced a weak smile. But he didn't know what to say to her. They both stood silently with their eyes boring into each other until Sirius knew there was only one thing for him to do. His eyes didn't leave hers as he leaned down and kissed her. As Raven kissed him back, Bellatrix rolled her eyes and nodded at Snape. When Snape pulled Sirius away, Raven's eyes were brimming with tears.

Sirius gave Raven one final smirk as Snape began to drag him away from her. "So long, ladies."

* * *

_A/N: You want to yell at me, don't you? I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. Just yell at me in your review. You'll feel better afterward. If you're really upset, you can even instant message me directly and if you're distraught enough I'll give you something to cheer you up, okay? On a more personal note, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my kitten, who just recently passed away. Yes, folks, The Dark Lord has indeed been vanquished. (I named my sweet, little, baby kitten Voldemort, also known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.) I'll miss you, Voldie-poo! Don't forget to review guys, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!_

_Luv, Liveley. _


	8. A Lucky Disguise

Black Blood

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah... Why do I even still put this here?

_A/N: Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone (if you're in America, of course) and let you know that I'm thankful for all of my reviewers. You guys are so sweet to me! I hope you like this chapter. There are some details from HBP that I would have liked to review before posting this, but my HP books are inaccessible at the moment. So if you notice something I may have gotten wrong and would like to point it out to me, I'd be grateful. Thanks! Enjoy reading!_

_Luv, Liveley. _

* * *

Chapter 8 - A Lucky Disguise

"It really isn't all that difficult. They have Sirius. We don't want him killed. So we need to get up off our butts and go get him right now!" emphasized James as he, Remus, Jordan, and Raven sat together on a couch.

Albus Dumbledore stood before them. He turned his benevolent eyes to James with sympathy. "I _know_ you're worried about him, James, but there is no need to act rashly. We all know full well how capable Sirius Black is. The sooner we come up with a plan, the better. But we can't afford to send the entire Order of the Phoenix in without thinking this through first."

"We don't have timeto _think_! We need to _act_! The longer we wait, the worse his chances get!" countered James, his cheeks reddening and his voice growing with his temper. "If we can't afford to send everyone, then _I'll_ go alone."

"James..." started Dumbledore again.

"I know!" shouted James excitedly. "I'll take the polyjuice potion! As some random Death Eater, they'll let me in the house, and then–"

But James wasn't thinking rationally now and Dumbledore and Remus both began shaking their heads. They were used to these sorts of things happening by now, though for Remus and James it had never hit this close to home. Raven and Jordan merely sat listening to them, not knowing if they were allowed to say anything.

Remus interrupted James. "Prongs, do you happen to keep a lock of Lucius Malfoy's hair in your back pocket? We'd need a Death Eater's hair to change into a Death Eater in order for the polyjuice potion to be useful." He turned to Raven and Jordan. "Did either of you happen to pull out a piece of Bellatrix Lestrange's hair in passing and save it?"

Jordan shook her head meekly as Raven slowly looked up at him with her eyes wide. He rose an eyebrow at her, but she then shook her head as well.

James rose from his chair and began to yell. "Well then you come up with something, Moony! Sirius is our best friend! We can't just sit here while he dies!"

Remus rose, too. "You think I don't know that?!"

Raven also rose from her chair and the two of them turned to look at her, expecting her to yell, too. However, Raven quickly walked past them and went through the door and into the next room without a word. They all stared after her.

Remus winced. "...Maybe we shouldn't mention the possibility of Sirius dying in front of her..."

"I suggest we get as many people together as we can and leave at first light," said Dumbledore, putting his hand on James's shoulder reassuringly. "Most of the Death Eaters have families and try to keep their daily routine as a cover. In the daytime, there will be less people there."

James was calmer now, but he looked to Dumbledore and shook his head. "There's no way we can wait until morning, Dumbledore." He lowered his voice in case Raven could still hear them in the next room. "Who knows what they could be doing to him right now..."

"James is right, Albus," said Remus, trying to stay composed himself. "The longer we wait..."

"I don't want any of you thinking I don't care about Sirius," responded Dumbledore. "But I know he is strong. And he wouldn't want any of you coming alone on a suicide mission to try and rescue him."

A voice sounded from the door Raven had just gone through moments ago. It belonged to a woman. She had her hood pulled down over the upper half of her face so that only her chin and lips could be seen. Her dark, wavy hair fell down and hung long around her frame.

"I've never really listened to Sirius, and I'm not about to start now."

Remus and Jordan stared at the woman, wide-eyed with furrowed brows. James looked up at her and did a double-take. They all knew what they _thought _they saw, but each of them also knew that it was impossible. Dumbledore simply let his eyes close and hung his head.

Raven threw back the hood and stared at them all, decidedly. Her eyes were sparkling, but determined. "I'm going to get him."

"Miss Ashe," started Dumbledore, "please–"

"No, Professor," said Raven firmly. "I can do this. Ever since our first year at Hogwarts people have been mistaking us for each other. If I keep my hood down, the other Death Eaters won't be able to tell the difference."

"Raven, no!" protested Jordan. "What about the _real_ Bellatrix? They're going to know you're not her if she's standing right next to you!"

"I just need to get in as Bellatrix. They'll have some cronies guarding the doors, won't they, Professor?" She didn't wait for a response. "After I get past them, I'll–"

"She'll use my father's invisibility cloak," James chimed in and nodded at her.

Raven inclined her head. "Thanks, Potter."

"And what if you meet Voldemort himself, Raven?" asked Remus. "Do you happen to be an expert legilimens?"

"Wouldn't he want to keep more well hidden than that? I'll just have to pray for some luck. This is the only plan we've got short of waiting until morning, Remus. Like James said, we can't afford to–"

"That's it!" shouted Jordan triumphantly. "Luck! She needs luck!"

James blinked at Jordan. "Thank you, Jordan. Have you met Captain Obvious? He just moved to town," he responded, sarcastically.

"No! Raven, don't you remember Slughorn's lesson about Felix Felicis?? Lucky potion!"

"...Well, we didn't win it. You blew up the cauldron," countered Raven. "And can't it only be brewed on a full moon or something like that?"

"...That was in sixth year?" asked Remus, trying to remember those few years back. "I'll bet Slughorn keeps some of it handy." He looked to Dumbledore. "Could we get some from him? I know I'd feel a lot better letting Raven go if she had some."

Dumbledore was already heading for the door. After he left, the focus turned to Raven.

She forced a weak smile as she sat down rigidly. "All I have to do is be an evil, vindictive bitch," she said, smirking slightly. "How hard can that be?"

"Raven..." Remus looked at her sympathetically. "Sirius would kill me for letting you do this."

"Sirius isn't here, Remus. And I'm the reason for it. I'm the one who decided it'd be fun to follow the Death Eaters, and he got taken to protect me."

"That's how he is, Raven. It wasn't your fault. The fact that he cares about you doesn't mean he wouldn't do the same thing for anyone else, too," said Remus.

"I know he would have! That's why he doesn't deserve this. I'm doing it whether you think I should or not," Raven responded stubbornly.

"I know you are..." contested Remus. "I want to come with you."

"No," Raven shook her head. "You'll just make it harder for me to get in."

Dumbledore returned ten minutes later, a bottle of dancing, golden liquid in his palm. He sat.

"Miss Ashe," he began, "are you absolutely certain that–"

"Yes!" said Raven emphatically.

"All right," he nodded, "now listen to me. This is how it is going to work, Raven, and I am afraid that I can make no exceptions."

Raven nodded quickly.

He continued, "You and Jordan if she so wishes, will immediately be instated as members of the Order of the Phoenix." Jordan nodded. "It's such a shame that we already posed for our group portrait last week," Dumbledore paused to smile reassuringly at everyone. "You will take the Felix Felicis potion in its entirety just before you begin your quest. You will go in being as cautious as you possibly can and you will get Sirius out as quickly as you possibly can without compromising your caution. As soon as you are both out and a safe distance away, you will notify me directly, and I will show you how to do that in just a few moments. If at any time during this process you need help, Remus, James, Jordan, and I will be waiting with anyone else we can round up in the meantime. Is this acceptable to you, Miss Ashe?"

Raven nodded again. "But I can join the Order _after_ Sirius is safe. We're wasting time by doing that now."

"I'm afraid, Raven, that this is where I was expecting you to argue with me. It is absolutely vital that you become an Order member before you do this. I don't have time to fully explain now, but being a member of the Order of the Phoenix will give you additional protection against Lord Voldemort. That will have to be a good enough explanation for now. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Raven answered.

"Now," Dumbledore turned to Remus and James, "I would like you both to go now and round up as many members of the Order as you can in the next half hour and tell them all to meet here. James, am I to assume that the reason Lily isn't here is because..."

"Although I'm sure she'd _want_ to help, I don't think she can handle the stress right now," said James. "I'll tell her after Sirius is safe."

Dumbledore nodded. "Agreed. All right, gentlemen, please go now. Ladies, come with me."

Remus and James said their goodbyes to Jordan and Raven quickly and then left. Raven and Jordan follows Dumbledore.

* * *

Raven's hands were shaking as she uncorked the vial of gold potion that was still dancing in its bottle. Raven took a deep breath and then downed the entire vial. As the liquid ran down her throat, it took away the fear and doubt that was inside Raven and replaced it with a calm, collective confidence. She sighed and thought to herself,_ "Piece of cake."_

She had never been to Malfoy Manor, but something in her gut was telling her not to just walk through the front gate. She sensed that it would be much wiser, and much more pleasant, to climb the fence and go through the gardens. After doing this, she was led around the back of the house. Without hesitating, Raven made her way toward a back door to the house that she just happened to see. It was partially hidden by vines. She made sure her hood was pulled low over her face, then raised her hand and knocked upon the door. It was immediately pulled open and a large, blonde man stepped out toward her, looking menacing. The thought that she would normally be afraid of this man made Raven almost giggle tonight, and when the man got a good look at her, his demeanor quickly changed.

"Bellatrix," he nodded submissively to her and stepped back to admit her, "I thought you would be with your sister tonight. How is she doing?"

"She's fine," answered Raven calmly, though she had absolutely no idea what the man was talking about.

"Has she had the baby yet? I thought she wanted you to stay with her."

Raven felt it would be best to laugh cruelly, and so she did. "I can't _stand_ children. I came to interrogate the prisoner. You know..." she gave him a sneer, "blow off some steam."

"Again, Bella?" The man also sneered evilly. "Just don't kill him yet."

Raven let her tone of voice harden. "You think I'm that stupid?"

The man panicked. "No! No, ma'am. Please go ahead." He stepped out of her way.

Raven swept past him without another word and saw that there was only a small landing and then stone steps leading downward into darkness. She went quickly and quietly down the steps and came into light at the bottom where torches were lit along the walls. To her right was a room where the door stood ajar. It contained a large table with chairs around it. Raven felt it was best to ignore this room and continued to her left. She passed other rooms where the doors were shut and, she assumed, locked. She felt she didn't need to bother with these rooms right now because glancing down the hall, she knew exactly where Sirius was. Up ahead she saw a figure sitting on the ground and leaning against a door. It was Snape. If Sirius was anywhere, it was behind the door that Snape was guarding. She clamped a hand around the wand in her pocket. However, Raven was relieved, but not altogether surprised, to find that Snape had fallen asleep. It would have been extremely lucky except that he was blocking the door, beyond which Sirius was almost certainly being kept. And then just as Raven tip-toed closer with these thoughts running through her mind, Snape, in his slumber, fell sideways. Raven smiled as she watched his head come to rest gently on the ground. He began to snore lightly. Raven stepped cautiously over his legs, pulled out her wand and tapped the doorknob. She heard it click open and turned it.

Sirius was sitting against the wall as Snape had been. His head was bent forward, resting on his bare chest. His blood stained shirt was lying several feet away. Sirius had cuts on most visible parts of his body.

When Raven carefully closed the door, Sirius' head jerked up and he stared at her. "What do you want now, Bella?"

Raven bit her lip as she started toward him, not knowing if there was anything she could do to immediately comfort him.

Sirius' voice was low and almost animal-like. "I will _never_ tell you what you want to know. You might as well just kill me."

Raven threw back her hood and knelt in front of him. "Sirius, shh." She put a hand to his cheek and looked into his eyes. "Snape's just outside the door sleeping."

Sirius blinked. "...Raven?"

She nodded and tried to smile reassuringly, but the sight of Sirius, bloody and weak, was making her incapable of doing so just then. They had clearly been torturing him to get information. "We need to get out of here right now. Can you walk?"

Sirius was still trying to fathom the fact that Raven and not Bellatrix was kneeling across from him. "Raven?!"

Raven felt something nudge her forward and she kissed him lightly. "I would hope your cousin, Bellatrix, would never do that."

She then noticed that his hands were bound and waved her wand over them. As soon as his arms were free, Sirius place both hands over Raven's shoulders and gripped her tightly. "Raven, I don't know what you think you're doing here, but you have to go right now!"

"Sounds like a plan," she responded. "Let's go, come on." She wrapped one of her arms under his and tried to pull him up.

Sirius struggled to his feet, although the pain he felt was blinding. "No, I mean you need to get out. I don't know how you got down here, but I'm not going to let you risk your life for mine."

"Dumbledore sent me in here to get you, Black. I'm not leaving without you. We need to go before my lucky potion runs out, so stop trying to save me already and move!"

Raven took his arm, placed it around her shoulders and led him forward. He groaned as he limped after her and she looked sideways at him.

He managed a weak smile to reassure her. "I'm okay."

She nodded and opened the door slowly, hoping that Snape was still asleep. He was. She pointed her wand at him as they stepped over his feet just in case he decided to wake up, but somehow she knew he would not. The two of them made their way slowly back up the hallway. When they were about to turn and go up the stairs, the blonde man from before came around the corner and gasped.

"You're not Bellatrix!" He pointed his wand at them before Raven could raise hers and yelled, "Snape!!"

Snape jerked awake, looked up at them all and quickly lept to his feet just as the blonde cast a spell at Raven and Sirius. The two of them barely had to duck to let the spell pass over their heads. It hit Snape in the face and he fell forward, stunned. Raven used the time to stun the blonde as well and then pulled Sirius up the stone steps. She led him through the gardens the way she came, and they hobbled along.

"As soon as we get off the grounds, we can apparate. Just a bit further, Black. I know it's painful."

"I said I'm all right."

"I know, but you're just trying to impress me," stated Raven, smirking sideways at him as she guided him along as best she could.

Sirius groaned as he continued to put weight on his bad leg. "Is it working?"

"Of course it is," she answered. "Now keep moving."

They continued on until they came to the fence that Raven had climbed over to get in, and Raven realized something.

"...I don't suppose you can climb that."

"I could try..." said Sirius.

Raven shook her head. "We'll have to go around the front."

Sirius shook his head. "We'll be seen for sure."

"We'll just have to count on Felix Felicis then. I know it's still working; I can feel it."

Sirius sighed. "All right."

Raven led Sirius slowly around the front of the house. Crabbe and Goyle were standing at the gate guarding the entrance and Raven quickly pulled James's invisibility cloak around them before they got closer.

Sirius looked to Raven, appraisingly. "We can take 'em. I've seen you in action."

Raven allowed herself to smirk. "Your leg's broken, Black. You won't be able to move fast enough."

"It's the only way out, Ashe."

Raven shook her head. "Something's telling me to give it a few minutes. Are you all right?"

Standing on his leg even though she was supporting him was very painful, but he lied. "Never better."

She smirked again. "I think you're bullshitting me, Black. You–"

Raven fell silent as the front door of the house suddenly opened and Lucius Malfoy came into view holding a baby wrapped in green satin.

"I have a son!" he said to Crabbe and Goyle. "One of you go and get Snape. He's going to be Draco's godfather."

Crabbe nodded at Goyle and then started around the back of the house. Goyle remained at the gate as Lucius went back into the house and Sirius suddenly began to laugh hysterically.

Raven whipped around. "Black, shh!"

She clapped a hand over his mouth, but Sirius continued on, possibly a bit giddy from the amount of blood he'd lost and then mounting pain in his leg.

"Snape, the godfather?!" Sirius choked out. "_That_ kid's sure going to turn out nice!"

Raven slapped him across the cheek to stop him from laughing. "Will you get ahold of yourself?! Goyle's going to–"

The invisibility cloak was suddenly lifted over their heads and Goyle stood behind them with his wand raised.

Raven turned around to face him, struck by a sudden idea from Felix. "Hi," she said, smiling widely. "Is this yours?"

She raised her left hand to show him something that was clenched in it. As he peered down to see, Raven quickly thrust the heel of her palm up into Goyle's nose. As Goyle stumbled back, grasping his nose and yelling, Sirius stunned him and he fell backwards, unconscious.

Raven and Sirius grinned at each other for a moment.

"You're quick," said Raven..

"And you with the hand!" replied Sirius.

Raven shrugged. "All right, come on." She led Sirius to the gate and opened it with her wand. "Crabbe's gonna find Snape and know you're gone in about two seconds."

Sirius nodded and summoned the invisibility cloak that was still clutched in Goyle's hand. "Lead the way, love."

Raven smirked and led him through the gate. Once they were out, Raven paused, held onto Sirius's upper arm, and closed her eyes. She stayed this way for several seconds, then opened her eyes again.

"Um...Black? We have a serious problem."

"What?"

"...I can't apparate."

Something seemed to dawn on Sirius. "Shit. Okay, we need to keep moving then."

They continued down the street and Raven looked sideways at him. "Why can't I apparate?"

"The Death Eaters must have put anti-apparition jinxes on the entire property. Not only do they keep you from apparating while you're on the grounds, but certain kinds continue working for a while after you leave, depending on how long you've been on. It's so that people like us who aren't supposed to be there can't make a quick escape," Sirius explained.

"Oh, great," said Raven.

"There'll be a counter-jinx to get rid of the effects, but I don't know it."

"We should put the cloak back on then and keep moving," Raven told him.

She paused to take the cloak from him and wrap it around them. As she was doing so, Raven noticed that Sirius was staring dumbfoundedly ahead of him. Raven followed his gaze and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. There were some large houses with long driveways.

Sirius looked as though he had just seen the ghost of Moaning Myrtle naked as he rose his hand slowly and pointed.

There was some heap of metal between the nearest two driveways where Sirius pointed. The two of them walked towards it.

"Yolanda!" Sirius exclaimed, frantically. He reached out and touched what appeared to be the remains of a motorbike.

Raven looked from the bike to Sirius, and then from Sirius back to the bike. "Yolanda?"

"Oh god, what have they done to you?!" Sirius continued, sounding agonized.

"Black, it's a motorbike..." Raven pointed out.

"_She_ is _my_ motorbike!"

"Then how did _she_ get here?"

"She was stolen last week," Sirius explained. "The idiot who took her apparently didn't know how to fly her!"

Raven put a hand on Sirius's shoulder. "She's toast, Black. I'm sorry."

"No! Help me get her up. She could be our only way out of here."

Raven laughed. "I'm not getting on that thing."

"Would you just help me?" Sirius asked.

The two of them righted the motorbike that had been laying on its side and Sirius swung his good leg over it. By some miracle, or perhaps Felix Felicis, the bike sputtered and came to life.

Sirius looked back at Raven. "Get on the bike, Sweets."

Raven crossed her arms and shook her head.

Sirius sighed. "Raven, look behind you."

Raven did so and immediately climbed onto the bike behind Sirius. Four Death Eaters were running toward them, Snape in the lead.

Sirius grinned. "You'll want to hold onto me."

The bike sputtered again, but as Sirius squeezed the gas, it jerked forward. Raven squealed and wrapped her arms tightly around Sirius's waist to keep from flying off the back. They sped miraculously off into the distance.

* * *

_A/N: Yes, it IS in the books that Sirius named his motorbike "Yolanda." Read them AGAIN! Hehe. It's also in the books that his middle name is Lee and NOT Orion after his father, because I know JKR wouldn't be cruel enough to kill him off AND give him the initials S.O.B.! Poor Padfoot. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know, won't you? I would really be thankful for some reviews this Thanksgiving, lol. Have a good one._

_Luv, Liveley. _


	9. More Than Healing

Black Blood

Disclaimer: I don't own Sirius or Dumbledore. If I did, they'd be dead anyway, so ya know... Aww, that made me sad to type...

_A/N: I'm sorry for the lack of updates, guys. This semester is seriously kicking my ass. I don't have time to write for fun AT ALL anymore. I'm on Spring Break right now, which makes no sense because there's still snow on the ground here. Anyway, I thought I owed you guys a chapter before my classes start up again on Monday and I'm just as busy as before. This chapter is basically mush with no plot, but I needed a break from all the action in the last chapter. I hope you like it anyway. Thanks for reading._

_Luv, Liveley _

* * *

Chapter 9 - More Than Healing

* * *

Sirius looked up from the bed as Raven entered the room carrying a bowl of yellow liquid and some cloth. Dumbledore, standing next to the bed, also turned to look at her and smiled.

"Thank you for coming right up, Miss Ashe. I mended Sirius's ankle, but I gathered that he'd rather have someone more attractive than myself tend to his lesser wounds.

Raven smirked. "I'll bet he would. Would you like me to go and find someone?"

"My dear," said Dumbledore, laughing lightly, "in my opinion, you are more than adequate."

"It's my lucky day then," Raven responded, sarcastically.

Sirius let out a forced cough, a cough that sounded oddly like "sexual harassment."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and smiled at Sirius. "Mr. Black, it might interest you to know that Miss Ashe is no longer my student at Hogwarts, and I, therefore, am free to flirt shamelessly with whomever I wish."

Raven began to laugh, and Sirius looked up at her. "Well, he _has_ seen his share of girls in his time." He turned back to Dumbledore. "You've got to be closing in on the big one-five-oh, soon, right?"

"Touché. Your jealousy is noted. Yes, I _am_ old, Sirius. Thank you for reminding me."

Sirius grinned. "My pleasure."

"Miss Ashe, has the Felix Felicis worn off at this point?" asked Dumbledore, turning again to Raven, who had come further into the room now and was standing a few feet from him.

"Yes, it has. And truth be told, it's a relief," Raven replied. "You have no idea how annoying it is to be that optimistic all the time."

Sirius and Dumbledore both began to laugh at this remark. Then Dumbledore stood and walked to the door.

"I'll leave you to it then, Raven. Thank you for all your help in retrieving Sirius this evening."

Raven smiled and nodded, and then Dumbledore left.

Sirius grinned at her and patted the space of bed next to where he was lying with his upper half propped up against the headboard. "Alone again, Ashe."

Raven smiled fakely. "You can stop pretending to be hurt now."

He scoffed. "Pretending? Look at my face! It's severely disfigured!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "It was like that before."

Sirius grinned. "Thanks, Ashe, I needed that."

"No problem," Raven said, sitting next to him on the bed. "Okay, so..." Raven dipped a small cloth into the bowl of murtlap essence and squeezed it out so it wouldn't drip all over Sirius, "this might sting slightly."

Sirius puffed out his chest in what he thought was a very manly way as though he were trying to impress her. "I can take it."

Raven smirked. "All right then."

However, no sooner had Raven touched the cloth soaked with murtlap to a cut on his cheek did Sirius start to wail with exaggerated pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, oooooow! It buuuuurns!"

Raven sighed. "It does _not_."

He scoffed. "It does so!"

Raven moved the cloth over another cut, this one right above Sirius's eyebrow.

Sirius jumped because the cut there was much deeper and he _did_ experience a mild, shooting pain. "Ow, motherf--"

"Black!" Raven cut him off, "God, you big baby..." He continued to moan. "Oh, come here!"

Raven set the cloth back into the bowl, placed both of her hands on the sides of his face, and pulled his head gently forward so she could blow on the wound above his eye. She did this for several seconds before she noticed Sirius looking up into her eyes dazedly, like he'd been put under a spell.

"...What?"

He smirked, but said nothing.

"Black, what?!"

Sirius leaned forward and kissed her. When he pulled back a second or two later, Raven rose an eyebrow at him.

"That was punishment," Sirius pointed at her.

"Punishment? For what?" she asked.

"For doing something as stupid as you did tonight, Ashe."

Raven bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Black... Crabbe and Goyle just came out of nowhere and grabbed us before we could do anything. I should have been paying attention..."

"Wha--" Sirius realized that Raven thought he'd meant something completely different. "Raven, no, that's not what I was talking about. That wasn't your fault, okay?"

"Whatever you say..." Raven looked away, not sounding convinced. "What did you mean, then?"

"Risking your life and pretending to be my cousin to come and get me out," Sirius glared at her. "It was reckless and stupid."

She smirked. "Worked, didn't it?" She returned the murtlap-soaked cloth to Sirius's cuts.

"You could have gotten killed! I'm not worth that."

"Dumbledore wanted to leave you there till morning. You'd have been dead by then, Black!" She sighed. "This doesn't even hurt, does it?"

He gave her a sexy smirk. "Twinges a bit when you first put it on."

Raven rolled her eyes. "And you had me blowing on it."

"I think this confirms you actually do care about me some of the time."

"I care about dogs, Black," said Raven, teasing.

Sirius's smirk grew. "Same thing."

She laughed. "I'm sorry, that was mean. You know I was just kidding."

He shook his head. "I kinda like it when you're mean to me, Ashe. I've never had a girl be mean to me before, excepting family."

"Oh really?" Raven asked. "Well then, I'm honored to be the first. Speaking of Bellatrix..." she trailed off, unsure of how to ask him.

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"...Was it her?"

"Was _what_ her?" asked Sirius.

"Well, did she do all this?" she gestured to the cuts on his face and his newly mended ankle.

Sirius nodded grimly. "Snape helped a bit, but for the most part."

"To her own cousin?" Raven's eyes grew round with sympathy.

"I told you my whole family hates me. Especially Bella. She'd have killed me if I had cracked and told her what she wanted to hear."

"It's one thing to want someone dead; it's another thing to cast the spell that does it..." said Raven.

Sirius smirked. "Well, I'm not dead yet."

She smiled. "Okay, back to the healing process." She dipped the cloth back into the murtlap. "You had cuts everywhere when I found you. Take off your shirt."

Sirius grinned widely. "Oh, Ashe, I've waited so long to hear you say those words to me."

She glared. "I could go get Dumbledore back up here to do this, you know."

He laughed. "I'll get them later. You don't have to."

"Well, do you want me to get you anything else?"

Sirius smirked yet again. "Well, it's almost two in the morning; I want what every man wants..."

Raven rose an eyebrow at him.

"...Burritos," he finished.

Raven giggled. "You want me to go get you a burrito at two in the morning?"

Sirius shrugged. "You offered."

"Only if I can take Yolanda," Raven smirked.

"You wanna ride _my_ woman?!" exclaimed Sirius.

Raven laughed. "God forbid, right? I was joking."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair to get it out of his eyes. "Actually, I think tha'd be kind of sexy..."

"Me falling off in mid-air would be sexy, huh?"

"Don't you know how to drive?" he asked.

Raven shook her head.

Sirius gave her a sexy grin. "I'll have to give you lessons sometime."

"Well, I can ride a broom. How is it different?"

"In the air, not a lot. It's harder on the ground, believe it or not."

She nodded. "On the ground there are roads and oncoming traffic."

"Well, let's go! I'll teach you." Sirius started to get up out of his bed.

"Black, don't! You're hardly in any condition to drive!" Raven placed both her hands on both of his shoulders and guided him gently back onto the bed.

He smirked up at her. "Quite the little mother, aren't you, Ashe?"

Raven winced. "_Please_ don't compare me to your mother, Black."

He laughed. "Believe me, I'm not. My mother? Hate her. You? ...Not so much."

"Be still, my heart," she grinned.

Sirius laughed again. "No, wait, I can to better than that."

"Uh-oh, you're losing your touch, Black," she smirked.

"I am not! I'll prove it!"

"How? More pick-up lines?"

"As if those have _ever_ worked on _you_," Sirius sighed. "I have an entire list of pick-up lines that don't work on you."

"Just because they don't get the response you want?" she asked.

"Well, you see, Ashe, there's a reason they call them 'pick-up lines.' They're actually supposed to help us guys out a bit."

"Well, maybe you don't need any help. Maybe you would have been fine just being yourself. Ever think of that, Black?"

"I could work on it," Sirius smirked, "for _you_."

Raven laughed. "You should get some rest," she said, getting up. "You've had a long day."

"Well, so have you. We could rest together..."

"Something tells me we wouldn't be getting a lot of actual resting done."

"Come on..." pleaded Sirius. "What if I'm afraid of the dark?"

Raven smirked. "Are there evil clowns living under your bed, too?"

He gasped. "How'd you know about that?"

"You mean you waking McGonagall up in the middle of the night and telling her that? Remus told me."

He smirked back at her. "Well, it's true... They're scary..."

"Uh-huh. I think you'll survive, Black," said Raven, pulling the covers up to Sirius's chest and patting his cheek teasingly. "Goodnight."

Sirius chuckled and looked at the clock. "Good _morning_."

* * *

Sirius sighed as he looked down at a sleeping Raven in her bed. There was a painting on the wall above her bed of a stern looking witch with large, rectangle glasses, watching him disapprovingly. It was to this painting that Sirius spoke, quietly.

"Even sound asleep she's getting to me."

The painting apparently didn't like being directly addressed in this way and left through the ride side of its frame, answering him as she went, "I can see that for myself, young man."

Sirius smirked. Dumbledore had set up this house as a safe-place for Order members. It had a number of homey rooms and a large common room where they could hold meetings. Sirius had battled with himself in his own room about invading Raven's privacy at four in the morning while she slept, but he hadn't been able to restrain himself. He had to talk to her now. He figured Dumbledore would have insisted that Raven stay there for the night rather than go home alone.

He perched himself on the edge of her bed and tapped her shoulder lightly. Raven shifted, opened her eyes with a flutter, and stared up at him for a few seconds. Sirius winced, remembering the last time he'd snuck into her room, then in Gryffindor Tower, and waited for her reaction. But Raven closed her eyes again and turned over, putting her back to him and sinking into her pillow. Sirius waited a few seconds more and then reached out a hand to tap her shoulder again. But before he made contact, Raven opened her eyes and turned around so quickly that Sirius jumped back and put his hands up in the air, as though showing her he had no weapons.

"Black!" Raven whispered, "I thought I was dreaming or something. What are you doing out of bed? You're supposed to be resting so you can heal. Do you need something?"

Sirius sighed. "Just you, Ashe."

Raven blinked. "What?"

"I couldn't sleep. I need to know what the deal is between us."

"Black...can this wait till morning?"

"No, not really. I think I've done my share of waiting for you to come round, thanks."

Raven sat up and looked at him. "What does that mean?"

"I made a move way back in the middle of my seventh year, your fifth. You pretty much told me to shove off. Am I stupid to think that's different now?"

Raven bit her lip. "No..."

"Okay, that's what I like to hear. So where are we then?"

"How should I know, Black? You've done this more than me," Raven answered.

"Not like this I haven't. It was easier before. 'Get the goods and move on.,' that type of thing."

Raven closed her eyes and put up a hand. "Okay, no need for details."

"Sorry," he smirked at her uncomfortable state.

"Well, how is it different from me? It's not like you don't want the same thing," stated Raven.

"Okay, maybe I do...I _really_ do...but I'm actually not _only_ looking forward to that, which is a new thing for me."

"Yeah, well congratulations on graduating into the world of the emotionally mature, Black," Raven teased. "You might run into James and Lily, they've lived here quite some time now."

Sirius grinned. "I'm not asking for a trophy or anything."

"Then what _are_ you asking for?"

"...A chance?" he asked. "...Just a little one?"

"How do you know it's not just going to turn into the same thing it was with all those other girls you threw away?"

"Because..." Sirius faltered and felt himself turning slightly red for maybe the second or third time in his life, "...I feel more now than I did with the lot of them combined?"

He could tell she liked that answer, but she still persisted. "But you said you couldn't resist a challenge. What happens when I give in and it _isn't_ a challenge anymore?"

Sirius looked into her eyes. "Kiss me," he commanded.

Raven turned one shade pinker and dropped her gaze to the duvet covering her bed. "No.."

He smirked. "See? Always a challenge..."

He brought her face back toward him and kissed her deeply.

* * *

_A/N: God, that was so cheesy, I couldn't write it without crackers! But it's done at least. Hope you liked it. Leave me a review, will ya? I miss those. I need some cheering up; my hamster, Newsie, is on her death bed! Thanks!_

_Luv, Liveley._


	10. Plenus Maturus

Black Blood

_A/N: I know… it's been over a year-and-a-half since I've updated this. All I can say is I'm sorry. You can all thank a vampire named Edward for getting me to write again. After I heard Cedric Diggory would now be Edward Cullen, I felt like watching Goblet of Fire, then I wanted to read Prisoner of Azkaban, and then I started to miss Sirius. But I need you to know that I can't make ANY promises. I don't know when I'll be able to update again. Hopefully, it will be soon._

_By the way, just to clear something up, **nowhere**__ in the books does it say that Sirius's middle name is Lee OR that he named his motorbike Yolanda. I was teasing you. (I was looking through some of my old reviews to decide whether I should even bother updating this or not, and a lot of people were asking "Where in the books does it say that?!" So, it doesn't say that. It was completely fabricated by me for humorous purposes.)  
_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

Chapter 10 – Plenus Maturus

"Sirius, I have to say, you seem suspiciously cheerful today. What's the deal?" asked Lily.

She was reclining opposite Sirius on the most comfortable couch in the meeting room at Order Headquarters with both hands folded over her stomach. James sat beside her, handing his pregnant wife a heaping bowl of black cherry ice cream drenched in what looked like mayonnaise.

"No, I don't. Eat your ice cream," Sirius answered her, smirking.

Lily took the bowl from James and grinned. "Mmm, thank you, sweetheart."

James and Sirius both answered her, "You're welcome," and Sirius received a glare.

"Lily's right. You do seem rather…optimistic," James conveyed as Lily began to eat her ice cream with a spoon. "You're not even making fun of her food cravings today."

Sirius shrugged. "Well, it doesn't stop her from eating, does it?"

"No, but that hasn't stopped you from doing it the past eight months, Padfoot," James said.

"It never really bothered me. I just thought it was amusing, that's all."

"And now you don't?" Lily asked. "I'm not amusing anymore?" She pretended to pout.

He shrugged again. "Ice cream with mayo sounds pretty good to me. Maybe some barbecue sauce?"

James laughed. "Liar."

"You want some?" Lily asked, offering him a spoonful.

Sirius smirked. "Thanks, I'm good."

The door opened and a few other Order members entered. Some nodded at Sirius, James, and Lily, taking seats at various places around the room. They were all waiting for Dumbledore to arrive and the meeting to begin. Raven was fifth to enter, following Alastor Moody. She smiled as she made her way over to them and sat next to Sirius. He smirked sideways at her.

"Hello, Black," she said without looking at him.

He grinned without taking his eyes off her. "Ashe."

"How's it going today, Lily?" Raven asked, indicating the baby.

Lily sighed, but smiled. "We're hanging in there, I suppose. You?"

"I'm good," she answered.

Peter, Remus and Jordan then entered the room and sat together. Raven immediately struck up a conversation with the latter while five more minutes passed with everyone making small talk and awaiting Dumbledore's arrival.

"Peter ended up tagging along, but we had fun," Jordan was telling her when Dumbledore finally arrived, but then began conversing with Mad-Eye.

Raven smiled, then noticing that Sirius had not taken his eyes off her since she walked in, added, "Black, stop your staring at me."

"Well look at me then."

"Why?" she asked.

"Why _not_? Afraid you might like it too much?" Sirius teased.

She turned her head and locked eyes with him and they both slowly started to grin at one another, although Raven seemed to be trying to fight the urge.

James smirked at Lily as he noticed this and asked, "So that's why you're so disgustingly happy today? You two finally admitted you're retarded for each other?"

"Hey, I was always retarded!" Sirius exclaimed.

Raven giggled. "No argument there."

He smirked. "You know, you're a bit easier to take when I know you'd much rather be snogging me."

"Don't be so sure, Black. I might just be trying to get you in bed and see if the rumors are true," she teased.

Sirius leaned forward to answer her. "They are." He rose his eyebrows twice.

"Sure they are," she answered, looking away from him again.

"Anyhow, if I'm a retard and you're dating me, what does that make you?" Sirius asked.

Raven sighed. "An idiot."

Sirius tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "You think we'd be the perfect match: a retard…and an idiot."

"You'd think so," she agreed, smirking.

Dumbledore spoke before Sirius' lips could meet Raven's and the meeting began.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Once the meeting was over and people started filing out of the room, Sirius looked to Raven once again.

"Hungry?"

"Yes, but I'm meeting Josh for lunch," Raven answered.

"Who in the bloody hell is Josh?!" demanded Sirius, suddenly outraged.

Raven giggled and kissed his cheek. "Relax, Black. I'm not cheating on you yet. He's my ex-step-cousin."

Sirius blinked. "Your… _ex_…step…cousin?"

"Well, my uncle married his mother and they got divorced two-and-a-half months later," explained Raven. "But Josh is more of a big brother to me since I was living with my uncle at the time."

Sirius thought for a minute before speaking. "So…you think of this Josh as a brother and you're sort of related to him so he's definitely not a threat to me?"

"…Definitely not."

Sirius grinned. "I think I'll go buy you something ridiculously expensive."

"You don't need to do that, Black."

"Well I'm _going_ to because the last time I bought flowers, they were for a man."

"What?" Raven asked, furrowing her brow.

"Yeah, I sent flowers to the Slytherin Quidditch captain with a note that said, 'Had a great time last night. Love, Sandy,' so his girlfriend, Bree would think he was cheating on her. And then Bree dumped him very publicly right before the Quidditch final that year and we beat the shit out of the Slytherin team." Sirius sighed and forced his tone to sound disapproving of himself, although he was grinning. "I'm a bad person."

Raven laughed. "Well yeah, but at least it was a Slytherin."

"So can I come by later then?" Sirius asked.

"Okay."

Sirius kissed her goodbye and went along to Diagon Alley. The front of the Herbology shop was dense with every type of plant imaginable, from red roses that sang the latest Wizard Rock love tune to ficus trees that watered and clipped themselves. However, among all the elaborate displays of flowers and garden plants, there was no shopkeeper. Sirius browsed a few displays on his own, then, like the mischief-maker he still was, wandered into the back room marked, 'DO NOT ENTER – EXPERIMENTATION WITH UNSTABLE PLANT SUBSTANCES IN PROGRESS,' in search of the shopkeeper. This back room was much more dubious and Sirius liked it better. Low lighting made him have to squint to see where he was walking, past plants and flowers kept in glass cases, some of which were emitting colorful bursts of mist or ooze.

At the far end of the room, encased in a large, glass cube, there was a beautiful, vibrantly-colored flower. It had a purple stem coming up out of a pot of soil and supporting bright purple, orange, and red flowers. The plant seemed to be pulsating like it was drawing slow, deep breaths. Sirius stood before it, transfixed by it. The nameplate in front of the case read, _Plenus Maturus_. He was peering into the glass at it as he heard a noise above him; the shopkeeper lived above his store. As Sirius started at the noise, he whipped around, his robes snagging across the table, and knocked over the case, shattering it. The plant fell to its side and shivered. Sirius heard loud footsteps above him and swore. He quickly picked up the plant and placed it back on the table, but as he was so close to it, it emitted a bright yellow puff of smoke. Sirius sneezed and shook his head as he inhaled the vile smelling substance. As footsteps echoed down a set of stairs, Sirius quickly repaired the glass case, put it over the flower again, and ran from the shop, chuckling.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Hi."

Raven smiled after opening the door.

Sirius was leaning on the door frame and ran a hand through his hair nonchalantly as he answered her. "Sweet Merlin…" he began, looking her up and down, his eyes bugging out of his head, slightly, "you're mindbogglingly hot."

Raven blushed a little and crossed her arms in front of her. "I thought you were gonna bring me flowers."

Sirius scoffed. "_Me_ bring a girl flowers? Please. I've never had to resort to something as desperate as _that_. Why start now?" He gave a fake laugh that he meant to be charming.

Raven furrowed her eyebrows. "Okay… I didn't say you _had_ to; it was your idea, remember? But since you said you were going to, I was sort of looking forward to them, that's all."

She smiled and leaned up to peck him on the lips. Then she stepped back to let him into her house.

Sirius gave her an annoyed look and scoffed once more. "What am I, your brother?"

Stepping toward her in one fluid movement, he wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and pulled her against him. He covered her mouth with his own and wasted no time at all without the use of his tongue, placing one hand behind Raven's neck to kiss her deeply. Raven was understandably taken aback, but let out a soft moan after a few seconds and wrapped her arms around his neck. He kicked the door shut with his foot as he backed her against the wall and leaned into her, then moved his kisses down her jawline and neck. His other hand found its way under her shirt and started to creep up her side.

"I…" Raven started, then swallowed hard. "Sirius…"

"That's my name..." was his response before he moved his lips back up to hers and began kissing her now more deeply than he ever had before.

"Mmm!" Raven's hands found his chest and she pushed him back to stare at him, her lips tingling. "Black…" she had to gulp in some hair and steady herself before she continued. "I'm confused…"

Sirius smirked. "Well, allow me to un-confuse you then." He pointed to her mouth. "Those are _your_ lips, and _these_ are mine," he said as he leaned toward her again, but she held him back before he could do anything more than brush his lips back against hers.

"What are you doing?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair again, then grew a smirk. "It's called sex, Raven, remember? It's fun. We should try it." And he leaned toward her again.

"But—"

He cut her off with another fervent kiss, returning his hand to grope under her shirt, but quickly jumped back, groaning as Raven had purposefully stood on his foot and then with a few steps put her kitchen table between them.

"Okay..." She needed a few seconds to catch her breath and then continued, "so I don't know if this is like some game to you, but I expect you to _mean _what you say to me."

"Come _on_, Ashe. I've been after you for over two years and you can't even give me _one_ decent shag?" Sirius asked, leaning against her countertop and beginning to rub his foot. "How can you tease people this way?"

She scoffed. "Why did you tell me you wanted to take things slow if you were expecting us to shag before we've even been together a week?"

Sirius laughed again. "Maybe I thought you wouldn't give it up if you knew that's all I wanted."

"_Is_ it all you want?"

He shrugged.

"Black…" Raven sighed, "you're acting even worse than you did in school. I finally gave you a chance because I thought you were honestly different now. Two days ago you told me _you_ weren't ready for a physical relationship yet. You said you 'don't want to fuck this one up.' You can't tell me one thing and then do the opposite!"

She sighed again as Sirius reached for her hand and pulled her back toward him. "You're _so_ unbelievably sexy when you're angry…" he said as he brought her hand up and started to kiss her fingertips.

Raven wrenched her fingers out of his grasp. "Black, I'm not gonna have sex with you right now _or_ anywhere in the near future, so are you gonna back off or do I have to tie you up?"

Sirius smirked suggestively, "Ooh, bondage fun!" and then started to giggle rather boyishly.

"…All right, have it your way," she replied, raising her wand.

He immediately put up his hands in surrender. "No, no, Sirius'll be a good boy!" Raven surveyed him skeptically, and then dropped her wand, although she kept a firm grip on it. "But then…what are we gonna do? I'm bored…"

"I don't know, maybe we could somehow figure out why you're acting like a sixteen year-old boy…" Raven muttered under her breath.

"Ooh!" Sirius exclaimed. "We could pull a prank on someone! Let's get Jamesy over here and Moony and—Oh, blast! He won't be any fun, it's not the full moon till next week, right?"

"Um…yeah, maybe we _should_ get Remus to come over here…" said Raven distractedly.

Twenty minutes later, Remus walked in the door and Sirius exclaimed, "Moony! Moony, Moony, Moony, Moony, Mooooooooonyyyyyyy!"as he bounded over to him, jumping up and down.

Remus took a few steps back as Sirius charged at him in excitement and began to leap in a circle around him. Remus rose an eyebrow at him and was forced backward. He looked over Sirius and found Raven's bewildered face.

"…Has he ingested several tons of sugar recently?"

"I have no idea what he's on; he was like that when he got here…" Raven responded, looking at Remus with worry etched clearly on her face.

"Hey Moonpie!" shouted Sirius, "how far have you gotten with Jordi?"

Completely ignoring Sirius and stepping around him, Remus addressed Raven. "What kinds of things has he been doing?"

"Well, he basically just came on to me really strong after we'd just discussed the other day that it'd be best if we waited awhile before we did anything like that…"

As Remus began pacing the room, Sirius followed behind him, keeping up a constant chorus of "Mooner, did you get her in bed yet?", "Come ooooooon, you can tell your old buddy Padfoot!", and "Moooonyyyyy, was she any good?"

Remus continued as though he could not hear what Sirius was saying, although he couldn't help catching certain phrases with the way Sirius was growing louder and louder. "Where did you go after the meeting?"

"Well, _I_ went out to lunch with Josh; he said he was going to meet me here later."

Remus turned to face Sirius. "Padfoot, where'd you go after the Order meeting today?"

Sirius grinned. "She was rubbish, wasn't she?"

"Dammit, Sirius, would you _please_ stay out of my love life!" said Remus, his jaw tensing. "It's none of your business! Where did you go after the meeting?"

Sirius smirked. "Answer the question and I'll tell you."

Remus looked suddenly quite angry, so Raven stepped forward. "Sirius, do you remember what happened to you or not? We're trying to help you!"

"Help me?!" exclaimed Sirius, glaring at Raven. "YOU _won't_ help me; YOU _refused_ to help me."

"_I_ refused to sleep with you! That wouldn't help you right now, trust me!"

He was by her side in less than a second, caressing her cheek with his hand. His voice was velvety when he spoke. "Yes it would... You have no idea how much I want you…" His face inched down, closer to hers as he ran his thumb along her bottom lip.

Raven turned crimson and met eyes unwillingly with Remus, who looked away out of courtesy. Sirius quickly took hold of her face with his other hand and turned it back towards him.

"Don't worry about him, this is _your_ house. He can leave..." Sirius shot Remus a nasty glare.

"Not until we find out what's wrong with you," Remus answered.

"THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME, REMUS!" yelled Sirius

"Sirius," Raven now turned his face back to hers, struck with a sudden inspiration, "if you tell us what we need to know, you can…I don't know, go through my skivvy drawer or something?"

The corners of his mouth began to turn upward into a mischievous grin. "Deal. What do you want to know?"

Remus answered him. "What did you do right after the meeting?"

Sirius sighed. "I went to that Herbologist shop in Diagon Alley, I guess."

"Did you buy anything?"

He started to laugh, "No, I had to run out 'cause I tipped over this plant thing and the glass broke!" More bark-like laughter filled the room as Remus and Raven exchanged looks.

"What happened after that?" Raven asked.

"If I brought you flowers, would you have slept with me?" Sirius asked, smirking sexily at her.

"No. What happened after that?" Sirius made an exasperated moan, like he was tired of answering pointless questions. Raven rose her eyebrows at him. "Answer the question or the knicker-viewing party will be cancelled."

Sirius's grin fell off his face and he crooned, "Nooooo."

"Then tell us."

He sighed impatiently again. "Then I went over to see if Prongs wanted to put a hex on Snivelly's house or something, but he wasn't home, so I came over here."

"Anything else?" Raven asked.

He hesitated and then lowered his voice so it was barely audible. "Yeah, I gotta tell you something… Come here…" Raven furrowed her brows and leaned in toward him. Sirius leaned down, too, like he was going to whisper something to her and then his arms were around her, and he was kissing her deeply again.

"Mmm!" was all Raven could get out again until she could push him away. "Sirius, this is _serious_…"

Sirius immediately began to giggle uncontrollably and fell onto the couch as his hysterical laughter grew in volume.

Raven and Remus met eyes across the room, and Remus voiced what Raven was thinking. "So, I'll head over to the Herbologist's and ask if there would be any sort of plant…substance that'd make Sirius act like a fifteen-year-old _girl_?"

"Basically," Raven agreed.

"You think you'll be able to handle him while I'm gone?"

"If all else fails, I'll tie him up. He seemed quite excited by that idea before you got here." Raven rolled her eyes.

Remus held up a hand. "I don't want to know. I would suggest getting his wand away from him and hiding it, though."

She nodded. "Good idea. Hurry back."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

_A/N: I was originally planning on resolving in the same chapter, but I decided it was getting long enough and I was eager to update. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope _I_ will be able to update again soon. If you find it in your heart to leave me a review, it'll help to know that there are still people interested in this story after such a long time. Thanks.  
_


	11. Children

Black Blood

_A/N: I had a little too much fun writing this chapter. I'm sure you'll see why. I may have gotten a little bit carried away… Oh well. Enjoy!_

------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 11 – Children

Raven closed the door after Remus and turned to find Sirius reclining across her couch with his arms folded behind his head. "So… what are we gonna do, now that we're alone?" he asked, then motioned for her to come join him.

Raven perched on the end of the couch, down near his feet, and Sirius quickly swiveled into a sitting position and moved as close as possible to her. She sighed. "Not that."

An extremely sexy smirk slowly made its way across Sirius's face as he deftly pulled her into his lap. "Not what? You don't know what I was thinking."

She put her hand over Sirius's lips as he leaned in toward hers. "Yes, I do."

Frowning, Sirius yanked her hand away and held it in his. "Why can't I kiss you? You're my girlfriend, aren't you?"

"Yes…but every time you kiss me, you get too carried away."

"That's the whole point, isn't it?" Sirius grinned, stroking her cheek with the thumb of his free hand.

Raven sighed. "Oh, come on, there's got to be _something_ you'd rather do than have sex…"

Sirius's smirk was back. "Name one thing that's more fun and we'll do _that_ instead."

"Well…" Raven thought for a moment, "they say the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach," Raven shrugged. "If you stop trying to get me into bed with you, I'll… bake?"

Sirius glowered at her. "You thinking _cooking_ is more fun than sex?"

Raven ignored his question to tempt him with another. "Chocolate chip cookies?"

He was suddenly distracted by the mental image. "…Maybe if they're warm and gooey with extra chocolate chips?" he asked, excitedly.

She smiled. "Sure."

"_If _you let me kiss you one more time," Sirius bargained.

Raven sighed. "What makes you think I don't want you to kiss me? I just don't want it to turn into more than that because it was _your_ dumb idea to wait until we've been together longer."

"If you thought it was such a 'dumb' idea, why the hell did you agree to it?" Sirius argued.

"Because you made it sound like it was important to you, to 'do things the right way for once.' Those are your own words!"

"Well maybe I changed my mind!" he exclaimed.

Raven was quick to retort, glaring at him, "Maybe you've _lost_ your mind."

Sirius groaned and leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes, bringing one hand up to rub them.

Frowning at him, Raven asked, "What?"

He let out a deep sigh and answered, lowly, "When you glare at me like that, I want you more than I can stand."

Blood flooded through Raven's cheeks. "You've told me… I forget not to; it's become a habit."

Quickly, before she had time to react, Sirius put a hand behind Raven's neck and pulled her face toward his. He wasn't going to go down without a fight and was considerably stronger than she was on a normal day, so once she began to kiss back, he wrapped his arms around her waist tightly. Raven sighed and parted her lips as she rested her hands on his chest, ready to push him away when she had to. He kissed her more deeply, moving down to her jaw, her earlobe, her neck, her collarbone, and back up again. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Raven registered that Sirius was _very_ good at this; it was almost impossible to keep a coherent thought while he moved fluidly from kissing one body part to the next. Heat began to rise up her throat and she had to fight to keep it down.

But as Sirius's strong hands started to find their way under her shirt and up her back, Raven broke his hold on her. "Black…"

He grinned again, keeping his forehead against hers. "Ooh, I like it when you say 'Black' that way, too."

"I know…" As he leaned toward her yet again, Raven quickly continued, "but you said one more kiss. Now we make cookies."

Sirius snorted. "We? Love, I can't cook, remember?"

"I think that's just an excuse to get women to cook for you."

He shook his head. "It's not."

Raven sighed. "Fine, would you rather go through my underwear drawer now?"

Sirius's eyes went to her chest. "I'd rather see what you've got on already…"

She narrowed her eyes on him and crossed her arms over her front. "There's no chance of that happening."

Sirius scoffed. "Oh come on, why not? I already know what size they are anyway: 34 B," he stated, confidently, then continued, after some thought. "You're a full B, though. You could wear a C."

Raven rose an eyebrow. "You can tell the size of women's boobs just by looking at them. That's definitely something I didn't care to know about you, Black."

Sirius giggled excessively. "Haha… boobs…"

"I hope Remus gets back soon," she sighed for the thousandth time.

-------------------------------------------------------

"So basically, when Sirius inhaled the gaseous emissions of the plant—"

Remus had to pause while Sirius giggled like a little boy. "Gaseous emissions? The plant farted on me? Hahahaha…"

He sighed and continued, addressing Raven. "Kind of like how a dementor sucks the happiness out of you? The plant that infected Sirius feeds on maturity."

"Well obviously…" said Raven, surveying Sirius, who was now wearing a pair of her bright chartreuse knickers over his jeans and trying to stuff five chocolate chip cookies into his mouth at once while continuing to giggle. "The effects will wear off, though…right?"

"The shopkeeper gave me a potion that will counteract the plant's—"

"No!" came Sirius's suddenly childish voice. "No medicine! I won't, I won't, I won't, I won't, I WON'T drink it!"

James giggled.

Remus's and Raven's heads swiveled around in a millisecond to stare at him, accusingly. Raven's eyes were wide.

"Oh _hell_ no, not you, too…" she moaned. "Don't encourage him!"

"What?" A smirk grew around James's lips as he answered his own question. "He's infectious… If Sirius gets an excuse to be an immature git, I have to join in; I can't resist! How much harm could he actually—"

A pair of purple, lace knickers soaring through the air and hitting James right between the eyes cut him off.

Sirius snickered. "Now you know why we call you 'Thongs'!"

James remained frozen for a few seconds, then threw himself across the room after his best friend, who let out a shriek and, still laughing, sprinted from the living room. As Sirius and James ran around them, giggling like prepubescent schoolboys, Raven and Remus stared into each other's eyes, silently wondering how long this could reasonably keep up.

"You just _had_ to bring James…"

Remus gestured helplessly into the air. "Well, he called to ask if I could take his shift tonight—he thinks Lily is getting close—and I wasn't sure whether you'd need my help or not..."

Sirius skipped by them both, catching Remus's arm and trying to drag him along. "C'mon! Moon-Me, Sperm-whale, Mad-foot and Thongs! Hey, where's Sperm-whale been lately…"

Raven rolled her eyes and watched them go; James now came to her side.

"So, he _really_ told you he wanted to wait to have sex?"

"When he wasn't masquerading around as his alter-ego 'Mad-foot', yes."

"Wow…" mused James. "Must be the real thing, huh?"

Raven bit her lower lip and smiled sheepishly, then turned back to watch as Remus attempted to wrestle away from Sirius in a dignified manner, clearly trying to demonstrate that _he_ wasn't going to join in on the party like James had, even if Sirius tried to force him.

Sirius finally let Remus go, only to sidle up next to Raven again seconds later, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and speaking into her ear, using that velvety voice again. "Hello, my future- and soon-to-be-lover. You just say the word and I'll make these two get lost."

Raven let out an exasperated sigh. "Weren't you ever _shy_?!"

At the utter absurdity of an idea such as that, he, James, and Remus all laughed in unison, Sirius pulling Raven more tightly back into him and moving her hair back so he could kiss her neck.

"Guys…" she gave James and Remus a pleading look.

Sirius's arms stiffened around her, his head snapped back up, and his body went rigid with excitement, mistaking her reproving tone for one of surrender. "You heard the lady, boys! Out, both of you! Be quick about it!"

Raven scoffed and pushed him away, heading toward her bedroom, grumbling under her breath.

James smirked, turning Sirius's body to face him and reaching to fix his hair, straighten his shirt, and appraise his general appearance. Sirius's eyes followed every step Raven took. "Okay, now don't be late again. You look great, honey."

Sirius clapped James on the shoulder. "Thanks, dear."

He followed after Raven a little too eagerly and was on her heels before she even reached the doorway. Therefore, he was taken by surprise when she suddenly did a one-eighty to face him, stretching her arm across the doorframe to block his access while she glared at him.

"Where do you think _you're_ going? I'm locking _myself_ in my room to escape from _you_. Let me know when my boyfriend re-inhabits his body."

"Raven, love…" Sirius sighed, "I don't see how I can help wanting you." He reached down and took her face in both his hands, looking down into her eyes. "And I know you want me, too."

"Sirius," began Remus in a warning tone, "how many times does Raven have to tell you 'no' before you'll get the point?"

Scowling, Sirius rounded on his friend, letting go of Raven's face. "Are you trying to say I'm thick?? I _do_ get it!"

"Then maybe you should back off," Remus continued.

Sirius rolled his eyes, then glowered. "Maybe you should put on some lipstick if you're gonna act like my mother."

James snorted.

"Black, take the potion," tried Raven, pleading.

"No!" Sirius answered, emphatically.

She narrowed her eyes on him. "Take the potion or I'll dump your sorry ass!"

Sirius gasped hugely and dramatically. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh, she would…" James replied confidently.

"Would not!" he retorted.

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not, would not, would not, would not!" Sirius took a huge breath and yelled, louder, "WOULD NOT, WOULD NOT, WOULD NOT, WOULD NOOOOOOOT!"

James yelled, too. "WOULD TOO!"

"NOT, NOT, NOT! NOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!"

Raven and Remus sighed, collectively.

"Yes she woooooould," sang James.

Sirius growled in frustration. "Would not, would not, would NOT - TIMES INFINITY!!!!"

James rolled his eyes. "You are SO immature, Padfoot…"

Sirius grinned smugly.

"Just take the damn potion!"

"NEVER!!!!"

Sirius sprang to his feet and fled the room, closely followed by James, the former screaming; the latter yelling obscenities that he'd never say in front of his wife.

With one quick look at each other, Remus and Raven concurrently drew their wands and cast their spells as James chased Sirius back into the room. The both of them fell to the floor.

"Okay…let's think about this rationally," began Remus.

James's full-body bind had been lifted at once, but Sirius lay in the middle of the floor, out cold. Raven had gently pulled his head into her lap to make him feel less betrayed when he was revived since it was her spell that had rendered him unconscious. She kept her hand against his cheek.

"How are we going to get Sirius to take the potion?" Remus continued.

After James was finished rubbing his bum and glaring at Remus for the hex, he answered, looking to Raven. "Well, clearly, the thing he wants most is you, Raven. And he needs to get that potion into his system so he'll go back to normal, right? We're going to have to find some way to compromise."

Raven suddenly went rigid. "No, that's not happening."

"But Ashe, you don't have to actually sleep with him, just, ya know, strike a bargain with him. Tell him you'll sleep with him _after_ he takes the potion," James finished in a rush because of the glare he was receiving from her, "and then you don't have to actually do it because he'll be back to normal!"

Raven opened her mouth to retort, but then closed it again. She sat pensively for a few seconds and then turned questioning eyes on Remus. "Is the antidote, by any chance, instantaneous?"

He shook his head. "No. The shopkeeper said it would work gradually. The effects will eventually reverse, but it could take hours depending on how much is actually in Sirius's system."

Nodding, Raven turned back to James. "So your compromise-slash-bogus seduction idea is out."

"Come on, Raven, that's the only idea we have!"

"I _won't _'compromise' that way!" refused Raven.

"But compromise is our only shot!" James insisted.

"You want me to compromise my virginity, James?!" asked Raven, through gritted teeth.

There was silence for fifteen long seconds while Raven's face flushed with red.

"No…" came James's apologetic voice.

"Then I suggest you keep it out of your sodding ideas from now on." Her teeth had refused to unclench themselves.

"Right." He gulped. "Will do."

The two of them looked to Remus.

"Short of holding him down, plugging his nose, and pouring the stuff down his throat, I got nothing."

Looking back at each other, James and Raven both shrugged. "That might be Plan B," said the latter. "I'll try and reason with him first, though, at least… But, I mean, he's already got cookies and underwear, what more could we be expected to tempt him with?"

Raven looked at the other two and, exactly at the same moment, all three of their faces lit up and, in turn, they exclaimed:

"Of course!"

"Why didn't we think of it before?!"

"BURRITOS!"

------------------------------------------------

Sirius sat on the floor, still adorned with several of Raven's undergarments, chewing an enormous bite of beef burrito with gusto while still trying to grin from ear to ear.

When he spoke, his voice was dazed and dreamy. "Raven Ashe… I want to marry you… Right now…"

He stuffed the last of the burrito into his mouth and moaned with satisfaction as Raven wound her fingers through his hair, beaming. "That's nice, love. Just finish the other half of the potion if you want anoth—" She stopped abruptly on the last word as she registered what he'd just said. "What?!" she screeched.

Remus had frozen and then hastily covered his mouth so as not to laugh, and James was looking from Sirius to Raven to the plate of burritos she'd just made with wonder in his eyes. "…I think I want to try one of those."

As James reached for the platter, however, Sirius screamed and slapped his hand away. "MINE! She made them for _me_!"

Immaturely, he stuck out his tongue and made a raspberry sound with his tongue and lips which splattered James with spit.

Slowly, with his eyes scrunched up, James wiped his face with his sleeve and then glared at his best friend.

Raven handed Sirius the rest of the potion, which he downed in one gulp, then took her face in his hands and kissed her enthusiastically.

Raven squealed and pushed him back, giggling. "Aww, sick, Black! I don't want that crap in my mouth!"

"My apologies." He gave her a magnificent grin, then began shoveling burritos into his mouth with record speed.

James's laugh was cut short when an owl swooped through the open window and deposited a crimson colored envelope neatly into his lap. James's eyes widened as he hastily tore open the envelope, his heart skipping several beats. There could only be one reason for a howler addressed to _him_…

The voice that issued from the envelope was absolutely livid. "JAMES POTTER!!!! WHERE THE BLOODY HELL _ARE_ YOU?!?! I'M HAVING A BABY!!!!"

-------------------------------------------------------

_A/N: Hope you got a few laughs out of this one. Leave me a review, will ya? It would mean a lot. Thanks so much for reading!_


End file.
